


Feed & Extract

by Annie_Eliza



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Angst, Biting, Blood and Gore, Dubious Consent, Fluff and Angst, Horror, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Romance, Supernatural Elements, Theft, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-03-06 10:12:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 73,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3130766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annie_Eliza/pseuds/Annie_Eliza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Justin figured he would have a lot of unexpected things happen to him once he went to Hollywood to work on Rage. But dying within the first week of his arrival was just a bit extreme.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [](http://tinypic.com?ref=2hs18nm)  
> 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin discusses LA with Daphne and calls Brian before he goes to sleep.

“I want to know everything about what you are doing! Is it glamorous? Are the people beautiful? Have you fucked a movie star? Please tell me you’ve fucked a movie star.”

 

“Daphne, I literally just got here three days ago.” Justin laughed as he decided what to wear for his first real day at the studio. He started at 8 am tomorrow and would begin planning the storyboards with the art director. Should he dress to impress or should he go a bit more casual and approachable? Brett dressed in jeans and a button down, but he was Brett Keller and he could get away with that. He wanted to be respected but not be off-putting or arrogant. He needs to call Brian and have him help him decide.

 

“So? That hasn’t stopped you before. You are staying at a movie director’s guest house and you expect me to believe that nothing has happened yet?”

 

“Well, there was a party the first night I was here.”

 

“Ooh, details!”

 

“I had been here like three hours tops. And Brett calls me from the house and says, ‘Hey, Justin! Some friends are going to come over in a little bit. Not too many people, just a few people in the industry to talk shop and some old buddies that live in the area. Swing by the house in an hour or so and join in! It will give you a good chance to network and get to know a couple of the people you are going to be working with.’ So I went because I am living in his backyard and I wasn’t going to pass a party up that was at Brett Keller’s house. Brett must have a different definition of ‘a few’ than we do. There had to be almost seventy people there.”

 

“Oh my god, did you see anyone famous?”

 

“Yep. And I’m going to tell you the one person I saw who I know will cause you to lose your shit.”

 

“Who?”

 

“He was your first true love and he was on a boat…”

 

“Oh my God, you saw Leonardo DiCaprio?”

 

“Yes. With like six different Victoria’s Secret models.”

 

“I hate you so much! I am so jealous right now! Why did you have to tell me, Justin?!”

 

“You asked.”

 

“Alright, who else?”

 

“Ashton Kutcher.”

 

“Yum.”

 

“Paris Hilton.”

 

“Ew.”

 

“Connor James.”

 

“Now, he’s really hot.”

 

“I’m glad you think so too, because I fucked him.”

 

“You liar. He’s with some socialite heiress.”

 

“Who is probably making more money than ever by being his beard.”

 

“You…Wait, are you serious? I just asked you if you fucked a movie star and you didn’t say yes!”

 

“I didn’t say no either. I was just surprised that you asked that when I haven’t been here very long.”

 

“I was joking! I didn’t think you actually had. Although, if anyone could manage to fuck Connor James as soon as they arrive to LA, it would be you. Or Brian. Speaking of which, have you told him this yet?”

 

Justin laughs at that, recalling the phone call he made to him as soon as he got back from the party. “Yeah. I think he was jealous of me. Probably because I got to fuck a movie star and he hasn’t yet, even though he has probably fucked someone in nearly every other profession.”

 

“Or he was jealous of the movie star.”

 

“Yeah right.”

 

“I’m serious! He like, totally loves you. He asked you to move back in with him and now that you are out there for right now, I bet he pines for you and your touch.”

 

“I’m sure he is substituting it every night with a few blowjobs at Babylon.”

 

“It still isn’t the same.”

 

Justin snorts at that. Daphne could be so ridiculous sometimes. 

 

“So did anything else happen at the party?”

 

“Things actually got really weird after that. A little while after Connor and I came back downstairs, it got a little too intense for me. Some creepy guy brought a batch of cocaine and I think some heroin too and people were taking it like candy. I don’t think Brett was friends with him but he let him in because he came with a studio exec whom he did know. The stuff he pulled out must have been really strong because the people who partook got really fucked up. Brett was pissed because he didn’t really know the guy and he was giving out drugs from some unknown dealer in his house so he went over to him and it looked like he was going to tell him to leave but the guy said something to him and all of the sudden Brett backed off for the rest of the night. I don’t get it, it’s Brett’s house!”

 

“What the hell? That’s really weird, Justin. I don’t want you around someone like that.”

 

“Well, I didn’t plan on being around someone like that. I tried to stay away from him, but he ended up cornering me and tried to come on to me. It was like he was trying really hard to convince me to come home with him. It was so fucking weird, because he was really intimidating and it was strange because I felt like I had no choice but I managed to say no, get past him, and get back to the guest house. I was sort of freaked out and kept looking out the window every so often. I thought I saw him once but maybe I was being paranoid. The next morning, I got up the nerve to ask Brett what was up with the guy and he acted as though the guy was just a friend of a friend and that it was no big deal. But when I called Brian after I left the party, I told him about the better parts of the night first and then told him what had happened. Even he thought it was weird and got pissed about the guy cornering me. Now he wants me to call every night before I go to bed. He will probably get over it after a week or so, but he started texting me non-stop when I didn’t call him until 2 am last night.”

 

“Aw.”

 

“Daphne, shut up.”

 

“It’s cute though. And sensible.”

 

“Speaking of Brian, I should go ahead and call him. I’m not going anywhere tonight since my first day is tomorrow, but I promised to call.”

 

“Alright, go talk to your true love. Good luck on your first day tomorrow. I know you’ll do great.”

 

“Thanks, Daphne. I’ll talk to you later.”

 

“Night!”

 

Justin hung up the phone and looked at the two outfits he had narrowed it down to. Yeah, he was just going to ask Brian.

 

He pressed 1 on his speed dial and waited for Brian to answer.

 

“Hey.” Brian gasped out and Justin knew he had interrupted him.

 

“Hey. Am I interrupting something?”

 

“No, just hang on a minute.”

 

He heard Brian put the phone down and after a minute, he heard his lover and the trick groan and take a couple of deep breaths. The conversation between Brian and the trick was muffled, but Justin could still make it out. 

 

“That was amazing! Just give me a few minutes and I’ll be ready for round two.”

 

“Not interested. Get out.”

 

“But, I thought-“

 

“You thought wrong. Now go find a fag who cares. You’re hot enough, it won’t be hard.”

 

“You are such an asshole!”

 

Justin felt bad but was also amused when the trick started cursing out Brian in Spanish and then he heard the metal door slam. It was then when Brian picked up the phone.

 

“So how was your day?”

 

“Brian, can’t you fake the stomach flu or let them down a little easier?”

 

“No, because then they’ll think they have a chance with me. I’m not available, so why lead them on? Now how was your day?”

 

“It was alright. I got some groceries and worked on some sketches.”

 

“Didn’t fuck any famous actors today?”

 

“It just wasn’t a 'fuck a star' kind of day, you know?”

 

“No, I don’t _know_.”

 

Justin laughed at the pout he could hear in Brian’s voice. He is pretty sure Brian was about to make fucking someone even more famous than Connor James a goal now.

 

“No one bothered you today, right?” Brian asked him, trying to hide his concern but not doing the best job of it.

 

“No one bothered me.”

 

“Good.”

 

“It sure is. Tell me about your day.”

 

Justin laid back on the bed and listened to Brian talk about his new client, Cynthia getting engaged to her boyfriend last night, JR’s colic, and how he was picking up Gus from preschool tomorrow and keeping him until the next morning when he had to take him back to school. Apparently Gus had been begging Lindsay to see his dad more and Brian made sure she knew that he wanted to be closer to his son. Justin took note of the happiness and nervousness in Brian’s voice but didn’t comment on it since he knew it was a possibility for Brian to close up once any slight change in behavior was pointed out. So Justin just smiled and told him he would be fine and to take him to Blockbuster so he could pick a couple of movies out that they could watch. In moments like this, he wondered how different they really were from ‘normal’ couples. He is laying here holding onto the sound of his boyfriend’s voice while he talked about babies and the people he worked with. That was pretty fucking domestic, if you ask Justin.

 

“So are you ready for your first day tomorrow?”

 

“Yeah, I guess.”

 

“Justin.”

 

“What?”

 

“What’s bothering you?”

 

Justin sighed. It may have come off as a little dramatic, but oh well. “I don’t know what to wear. Like should I be like you and wear a suit or should I go ‘starving artiste’ or-“

 

“That’s it? I thought you would feel overwhelmed and intimidated by working in a big Hollywood studio.”

 

“Well, that’s not it. Wait, do you think I should feel intimidated?”

 

“Justin, no. You know you are fantastic. You drew the material and it was so good that they flew you out to Hollywood and decided to have you help them make Rage the movie. You’ve got this. Don’t dress in a suit. You aren’t working for a firm or an agency. You are an artist and you aren’t supposed to conform to the standards or whatever. But don’t wear that black turtleneck or they might think you are pretentious. Wear that blue shirt I got you and a nice pair of jeans. You look hot in that shirt and you’ll look nice enough for your first day but not like you are trying to run the place. There. Decision made on what you are wearing tomorrow. The question is, what are you wearing now?”

 

And of course that led to them having some really hot phone sex. Brian had stopped and refused to continue until Justin got his dildo out. He had pushed it inside of him and tried to pretend it was Brian’s cock as he thrusted it in and out of his hole. He could hear Brian panting on the other side of the line and god, he wanted him so bad. He wanted Brian on him and inside of him and lying next to him after they were finally too spent to continue. 

 

But even over the phone, they gave themselves a few moments to bask in the aftermath. They listened to each other breathe and knew that they were both tired and would have to hang up soon.

 

“I miss you, Brian.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You’ll get over it. LA will take over. You’ll have so much fun that you won’t want to leave.”

 

“No. I mean, it’s beautiful and it’s warm even though it’s January. I am enjoying it a lot so far. I am staying for this opportunity. I would be stupid not to. But it’s not home. Not without you.”

 

Brian stayed quiet for a minute. For a second Justin thought he might have fallen asleep or that the call got dropped. But then he spoke, very quietly and seriously.

 

“You be careful, you hear me? You don’t know anyone there right now. So don’t take any drugs from anyone. Just hold off for a while. You don’t take them much anyway. Don’t leave your drink lying around. Don’t work too hard. Take time to rest. Fuck around but be safe. And please tell me if something happens. If someone is making you feel really uncomfortable, if you get hurt, even if you have an allergic reaction, I want to know so I can be on the first plane out.”

 

“I doubt I will be seeing that guy around again, Brian. He really creeped me out but I’m okay. You don’t have to worry about me so much.”

 

“I’m not worried. Just humor me, okay?”

 

Justin smiled. Brian could hide his emotions so well but there were times where he was so transparent. 

 

Softly, affectionately, and reminiscently, Justin says to him, “Brian Kinney gives a shit. You so care about me. You love me so much.”

 

“Yeah it took long enough, didn’t it?”

 

Justin’s heart skips a beat and he sucks a breath in because that is the closest confirmation of love he has ever gotten from Brian. Never has he gotten any sort of verbal confirmation on it. He has received nothing more than a smirk and maybe a kiss. Of course the first time anything somewhat close to an “I love you” comes out of Brian Kinney’s mouth, Justin is clear across the country. 

 

“Goodnight, Justin. Let me know how your first day goes.”

 

He hears Brian end the call and Justin lays there for a few minutes gently holding the phone against his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin's first day working in Hollywood starts out great and ends horribly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are some non-con elements in this chapter. No rape or anything described but it is a dark chapter and may make people uncomfortable.

Justin loves it here.

 

He meant what he said on the phone to Brian. He really did. LA would never be home to him. Not without Brian. But he loves the fact that he didn’t have to bundle up just because it was the middle of January. He loves that Brett was close to the ocean. The air smells better than Pittsburgh’s. But most of all he loves his new job.

 

He walked in to the studio, preparing to find himself not sure of his actual importance yet. But instead he found that his opinion mattered, even to some of the more seasoned people on board. He was taken seriously. His input had an effect on what they were trying to build. That met so much to him. He had always been ambitious and smart but it sort of just hit him that his hard work with Michael, and Brian for that matter, was paying off way more than he could have expected. It felt good to be approached by people with names he recognized and be commended for something that had technically started on a club napkin. 

 

They had gotten a lot of work done that day and were still going at it eleven hours after Justin had arrived. At the moment, Brett, Justin, Clyde, who was the production designer, were working on what they wanted to aim for when it came to the look of Rage’s agency. Around 7 pm, Brett had gotten a call from the secretary letting him know that a Don Parrish was out front. 

 

“Shit, I didn’t put him on the list. He just agreed to be an Executive Producer for Rage a couple of days ago. Send him in immediately whenever he shows up here alright, Mae?”

 

A few minutes later, a large man in a nice suit with a receding gray hair line came in and greeted Brett with a smile. Behind him, another man came in. Justin instantly became uneasy because he recognized him as the man from the party. 

 

“Brett, my boy! So good to see you. Bet you’re glad this is getting greenlighted, you fanboy.”

 

“You bet. We even have the artist of the comics on board. Hey, Justin! Come over and meet Don.”

 

Justin put down his pencil and went over to shake hands with the man. 

 

“Wow, you’re young! How old are you? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

 

“It’s not a problem. I just turned 21.”

 

“Wow, kid. I worked my ass off to get where I am and you make me feel like I slacked off. Have you two met Zach yet?”

 

“Oh, yeah. Paul brought you over to my house a couple of days ago. How have you been?” 

 

“I’ve been well. I hope I wasn’t intruding when I came to your home?”

 

“Oh no, not at all. Any friend of Paul’s or Don’s is always welcome in my home.”

 

What the hell? He had gotten so many people fucked up that night. It was a wonder that no one overdosed. Brett had been pissed about it before he confronted him. But today this man can walk in all suave in a business suit with his hair slicked back and Brett acts all pleasant and welcoming, as though it never happened? Justin doesn’t get this at all. 

 

Don pats Zach on the back and looks at the two of them. 

 

“I just met Zach here this morning. I was a bit hesitant since I haven’t done business with him before, but his check cleared. Zach here has offered a large sum of money to help with Rage. It’s really going to help it become the best it can be.”

 

Brett’s eyes light up but he looks confused. “Really? Are you a producer? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”

 

“I have helped finance films on a few occasions. I try to help fund projects I am especially passionate about, whether they be in film, music, scientific research, or giving a helping hand to non-profit organizations. I have been very fortunate financially and I like to help when I can. I like being a private man though, so I usually do my business discreetly. I can only put forth about ten million, but I am sure you will find use for it.”

 

“That…that would be a lot of help! Thank you! See how many people you have inspired Justin?”

 

Justin nods absent-mindedly as Zach turns his head to direct his gaze towards Justin. A shiver goes down his spine as Zach’s cold steel colored eyes completely focus on him. He feels frozen, as though that blank but inquisitive stare is rooting him to the spot. 

 

“Justin…I don’t believe we were properly introduced last night. I’m Zachariah Remington. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you.”

 

Zach holds his hand out and Justin forces himself to take it. He hides his wince at the man’s grip and tries not to look away first. 

 

“It’s nice to meet you under more professional circumstances, Mr. Remington.”

 

“Hmmm, if you say so. You may call me Zach, by the way. I have a very strong feeling that we will be working quite closely together for the foreseeable future.”

 

What he just said isn’t all that odd. Although he doesn’t see why an executive producer would need to “work quite closely” with someone in the art department, even if that someone was the co-creator of the source material. They may look to see how their money is being handled, but Justin thought they mainly worked with the producers and the directors. However, it is the way that Zach says it that almost makes him feel ill. It’s as if he isn’t just referring to Rage. He has met people before and would think, “Oh, he seems like a dick” or “She seems like a snob” but this didn’t feel like your average first impression. He didn’t want to work with this man. He didn’t want to even be around this man. He couldn’t explain why. He just had a really bad feeling about him. Justin knew he would have to suck it up. He had no choice and he couldn’t just give up the job just because he didn’t like the guy. He wanted to be a part of this. He deserved to be a part of this. He should be grateful that a man who wasn’t even established in the film industry was willing to give so much of his money to them. So Justin just nods at Zach’s statement in return, releases his hand, and takes a step back.

 

“Well, I’m going to get back to work.”

 

“I’m so glad I got this kid. He made the material and he has been working his ass off all day.” Brett boasts to Don.

 

Justin walks back over to the table to join Clyde and starts back on the design of Rage’s office again. Brett, Don, and Zach are all talking to each other about how they are anticipating the pre-production process to go then start throwing around names when it comes to casting. Every once in a while, he feels Zach’s eyes settle on him and Justin tries to ignore it because every time the man looks at him a sense of WRONG, in all caps, bolded, lit up, and blinking in red, goes through his brain and his veins. Justin doesn’t even understand why his body is reacting like this. It makes no sense to him. No one has made him feel this unsettled. Not Hobbs, not the Sap. It’s weird and it’s childish, but he wants Brian. His lover and his partner, but can also admit that their odd dynamic sometimes makes him his mentor and protector. He knows he would feel safer with Brian here. Then again, Brian would probably tell him to suck it up since the guy was giving them ten million dollars. Either that, or he would be on the first plane he could get and become a guard dog until he determined whether Remington was a threat. There was a reason he never told Brian about what Sap tried to do. He knows which way Brian would have gone in that case.

 

So he ignores him. He keeps himself busy and tries to do what he was brought to LA to do: work on Rage. And that works for him. Don comes over and he shows him what they have been working on. He is passionate about what they have come up with already and he manages to discuss what they are doing just fine. He ignores Zach’s presence until he hears him saying something to Brett that catches his attention.

 

“Brett, why don’t you call it quits for the day? Invite your friends, invite your colleagues, invite me, and invite Mr. Taylor to your home and celebrate your start on Rage.”

 

“Um, well we were sort of in the zone and I really want to-“

 

“I insist that you stop for the day and have a get together in your home. Make sure everyone important is there and make sure they have an incredible time.”

 

“Yeah. Okay. That sounds good.”

 

Brett turns around and puts his hands together. “Alright, you guys! We have been working for eleven hours and I think it’s time to call it quits for the day and celebrate our first day in pre-production on Rage. I’ll head to the other rooms and gather everyone. You are all invited to my place.”

 

Justin feels so weird about this because just a couple of hours ago Brett had been talking about working until probably midnight. It’s only 7:30. How had Zach changed his mind so easily?

 

“Hey, Brett? You know what, I am really in the mood to keep working. If you want to go ahead and go, we can tell security that I am staying here for a while and I can get a cab back in a few hours.”

 

“You’re coming, Justin. I won’t take no for an answer. Come on, man! We’ve got a great start going on here and we’re already ahead of schedule. Let’s call it a day and celebrate. So get your stuff together and we will be on our way. You coming, Don?”

 

“Oh, well it’s awfully nice of you to ask. I suppose I could stop by for a little while.”

 

Zach touches Brett’s arm and has him look at him again.

 

“Have your secretary call everyone you want to come.”

 

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’ll let Mae know. Maybe she can come too.”

 

“I’m sure she’ll be honored.”

 

Brett walks off and Zach turns back to Justin and just fucking stares at him. Justin can’t read it. It’s as though he is studying him or something and Justin doesn’t like it one bit. But fuck it. He avoided him last night, so he can avoid him tonight. It’ll be fine.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

It is almost 9 pm. Justin is sitting on Brett’s couch and he is yet again under the scrutiny of Zach’s stares. He hates it. He knows he is probably being a paranoid twat but he can’t fucking help it. 

 

He can hear the gate buzzer go off every so often as Brett’s guests make their way in. Music gets turned on, drinks are poured, joints are rolled, pills are crushed. At one point Zach leads Brett over to the door and introduces him to a few men and asks Brett to invite them in. 

 

Connor approaches Justin with a flirtatious grin on his face and Justin is tempted for a moment for a second go so he can have an excuse to get out of the room, but he plans on sticking by the rules this time. He knows Brian said they could get rid of the rules while Justin was away, but he knows he did that to try to put no pressure on Justin. He knows that Brian hasn’t kissed anyone sexually or romantically except for him since they made up the rules on the dancefloor of Babylon. He knows Brian has abided by those rules even when Justin left him for Ethan. So he is sticking by them. He feels bad enough that he knows Connor’s name and Connor knows his, but the no names rule was hard to avoid since he is Connor James. To be fair, he is pretty sure Brian would have pulled a Debbie and smacked him on the back of the head if he would have passed up fucking the ass of the star of _Vicious Metropolis_.

 

So he says no and lets him down a lot easier than Brian ever would. Connor seems a little disappointed but moves on rather quickly with some reality host from MTV and Justin doesn’t feel so bad. As the night grows later, the people around him get more trashed. Brett has essentially turned his living room in to a dance club and the color lights and surround sound he had installed really add to that effect. Justin moves across the room and he sees Zach leaning in to speak closely to one of the men whom he invited. At the same time, both Zach and whoever the fuck the other guy is turn to look straight at him and they both have a glint in their eye that makes Justin’s blood run cold. He doesn’t need to party anymore tonight. He doesn’t need to drink anymore. It’s for the best that he gets back to the guest house. He can get ready for bed and call Brian. It’s about midnight but it’s a Monday and he also knows that Gus is staying over so Brian won’t have a trick for the night and Gus will be asleep already. 

 

He tells Brett and a few other people that he is heading back but most of them are feeling too good to really pay Justin any mind. He looks back and scans the room but Zach and his friend are nowhere to be seen. He heads out the back door and walks through the yard, past the pool and hot tub, which is mostly empty except for in the far right corner of the hot tub where he is pretty sure Paris Hilton is about to be fucked by some gaffer, and makes his way into the guest house. He could have sworn he locked the door. All the lights are off so it’s dark and he can’t see much so it really freaks him out when he hears a voice from the corner of the room.

 

“You know, it’s a relief that Brett didn’t make you sign a lease. I would have had to ask for your permission to come in here.”

 

Justin jumps and reaches for the light but a strong grip stops him.

 

“What the fuck, you freak?! Let me go!”

 

“Ah ah ah!”

 

Justin has prepared himself to fight before coming to LA. He did it with the pink posse when he wanted to fight homophobes so he can do it here against some rich pervy asshole. 

 

But when he tries, and oh does he try, he manages to twist around to face the guy but the man just grabs him again and he can’t even get him to budge. Zach’s fucking friend or henchman or whatever this guy is catches Justin’s fist when he tries to throw a punch at the beefy fucker’s face and twists it. He hears a bone in his wrist crack and he yells out in pain. Justin kicks him in the shin and it does get the guy to cry out a little and let go. He tries to make a run for the door but Zach is standing in front of it looking amused and pushes Justin so hard that he is on his back within a second and bumps his head against the floor.

 

“Justin Justin Justin. You are a fighter, aren’t you? Stubborn as hell, but I admire that.”

 

Zach walks over to where Justin is laying. He puts a foot on each side of Justin’s torso, straddles him, and hold Justin’s wrists above his head. It fucking hurts. He can already feel the swelling in his right wrist and isn’t that just fucking great since the job he just started requires hours of drawing and he had problems with his hand doing that anyway. He struggles even though he’s in pain but somehow Zach is stronger than his buddy. And how is that even possible when Zach is slim and just a couple inches taller than Justin and the other man is built like a brick wall and probably as tall as Brian?

 

“Although I appreciate a man who is firm and defiant, I didn’t appreciate it last night. I saw you and I wanted you. I wanted to be inside you. I wanted to taste you. And I still will. You smell so incredible. I knew the instant I saw you that I had to have you, at least for a night. But you said no. And when I started to compel you, you still said no and wouldn’t stay put when I told you to. Why is that, Justin?”

 

“Because you are a creepy bastard who can’t handle rejection?”

 

Zach’s face twists into a gruesome and predatory grin and Justin’s uneasiness that he has felt about the man turns into fear. Keeping one hand up to hold his wrists, Zach strokes Justin’s face softly with the other.

 

“I don’t think you understand, love. You aren’t supposed to reject me. It isn’t possible. Yet you are the only one here who can. Now stay still. Matthew and I have something to give you.”

 

Before Justin is about to scream at him and try to be loud enough so that fucking Paris Hilton and her gaffer fuck of the night can save the day but Zach’s eyes change. Not in expression. No, Justin wishes it was just a crazed glint that showed what a maniac this man was. His eyes literally darkened and veins start popping up around his sockets. He is frozen in fear because this isn’t normal. He looks inhuman and Justin doesn’t know what is happening anymore. He feels like a fucking pussy but he is about to have a full blown panic attack. And just as Justin’s heart is trying to beat out of his chest, Matthew hands a syringe to Zach and he feels it pierce his neck and enter his veins before he can get out more than a panicked “no.”

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

His head hurts first when he starts to wake up, not his wrist. And considering that he is in LA, he feels kind of cold right now. But then again, it gets colder at night usually. Something about desert temperature extremes and how the ground takes the heat it absorbed throughout the day and pushes it back into space. He can’t remember the exact logistics of it. It is nighttime, right?

 

He doesn’t want to open his eyes. Because now he can feel his wrist throbbing in pain and god it hurts worse than his head. What the fuck hap-

 

And then he remembers. 

He probably opens his eyes too fast at that point and it takes a few seconds for them adjust to the light. But the light isn’t too bright. It just comes from an overhead light in what looks like a basement. He has no idea where he is. He looks down and sees that there really is a reason why he’s cold: he’s naked. He’s naked and he is tied up in a chair with rope and handcuffs and probably duct tape too, just for shits and giggles. He knows what he has to do. He just needs to tip over the chair and try to get it to break-

 

And the chair is bolted to the floor.

 

“You aren’t going to escape that easily, you know. Zachariah has been doing this for centuries.”

 

A man steps out of the shadows. Justin recognizes him as one of the men that Zach had Brett let in. He has tussled brown hair, hazel eyes, and is dressed in black slacks and a dress shirt that’s covered in blood. He looks down at himself and looks back to Justin.

 

“Sorry about my appearance. My meal struggled quite a bit. It is kinder for us to compel them to calm them down first but that takes the fun out of it. Oh well. What’s done is done and now I even have a souvenir!”

 

He walks a few feet to the freezer and opens the door so Justin can see Paris Hilton’s severed head sitting right in the bare center.

 

“HELP!!! SOMEBODY HELP ME! SOMEONE!”

 

Justin jerks against ropes that hold him as he fucking FREAKS OUT. This can’t be happening. This has to be a dream. He is so fucking scared. He wants Brian. He wants Brian to get him out of here and hold him and never let him go. Hell, he might sound like a baby for thinking this, but he wants his mom too.

 

“Yelling isn’t going to work. We’ve kept you knocked out all night and part of the day. You aren’t in mansion land anymore, buddy. We drove you out to our ranch in the desert. You’ve been in this basement for several hours now. There are no neighbors for miles and we’ve had the place soundproofed for precaution. So just get over it.”

 

He can’t get over it. He fucking can’t because he was drugged, stripped, and tied up and there is a socialite party girl’s head in the freezer. How does someone get over that?

 

Faster than he has seen anyone else move, the man is right in front of him, bending down, with each hand on the arm rest. 

 

“Stop. Yelling.”

 

“Fuck you!”

 

“Hmmm…Zach was right. You can’t be compelled. You don’t have vervain in your system, do you?”

 

Justin doesn’t care about what he is saying, he needs to get the fuck out of this chair. He feels the man’s hand grip his hair and turn his head to the side.

 

“I’ve built up a tolerance when it comes to the consumption of vervain. The others think I’m crazy but the next time they pass out because they fed on someone with it in their system and I walk away with just a headache and a pissed off attitude, they will reconsider their stance on the matter.”

 

Justin has no idea what he’s talking about but soon he has to put what was just said in the back of his mind because this man has fucking fangs and his eyes do the same thing as Zach’s and he is biting into Justin’s neck.

 

Now that Justin realizes that vampires apparently do exist, he feels the fight drain out of him because what is the fucking point of fighting a group of people who are probably ten times stronger than he is? He is feeling weaker than usual anyway because he was drugged and who knows what happened within that time? And it isn’t helping that this guy is sucking on him like a leech and it’s making him lightheaded.

 

“Vince, release him right now.”

 

The man, apparently Vince, reluctantly releases himself from Justin’s neck and wipes his mouth.

 

“I was checking for vervain.”

 

“You already did that. And Zach was feeding on him for hours. You know he will be pissed when he finds out you have been sucking on his catch.”

 

Vince just shrugs and goes back to the other side of the room.

 

The woman who was speaking is now standing in front of him. She tilts his chin up and makes him look her in the eyes. 

 

“My name is Meredith. I would like to apologize for Vince’s behavior. He can be very volatile. Zachariah will be back soon.”

 

With that, she walks towards Vince and directs him upstairs. 

 

He hates that he knows he’s about to die. He hates that he didn’t get a chance to call Brian one last time. He wanted to hear how his day went with Gus and find out what movies they watched and what they had for dinner. He hates that he didn’t get to really tell Brian how much he loves him. He had said the words to him before, but right now he wanted to blurt out every declaration of love he could think of, even the ones that might creep Brian out a little. He would have liked to have heard an “I love you” come out of Brian’s mouth, but Justin knew that Brian loved him. He knew that Brian was probably worried that he hadn’t called and had probably filled up his phone with concerned voicemails that would eventually turn angry and then pleading. Justin wondered if they would ever find his body. Probably not. So fuck, Brian would never know for sure. He hated to think of Brian identifying his corpse but somehow it hurt worse that he would be left worried sick and wondering what Justin might have gone through before he disappeared forever.

 

Justin bites back a sob and feels tears trickle down his face. He doesn’t want to die. He wanted to see Brian get his first gray hair and see Gus and Molly graduate high school and he feels so fucking cheated that he isn’t going to see any of those things.

 

“It won’t be so bad.”

 

Justin turns his head towards the timid voice. He sees that it came from a tall and lanky boy, probably around 16. He is dressed in a baggy sweater and jeans and has his arms crossed in front of him and his shoulders hunched up.

 

“If they just kill you, then you won’t be miserable and you won’t hurt anymore. But if they turn you, it will be alright eventually. They won’t make me a ring so I can’t go in the sun yet, but I feel like once that happens, I won’t be wishing I was dead everyday.”

 

Justin doesn’t think anyone ever taught this kid how to be soothing.

 

“My name’s Daniel. Your name’s Justin, right?”

 

Justin reluctantly nods and turns his head away to look at the floor.

 

“They are saying that next year I can join them for real. It’s only been a little less than a decade since they turned me. I still have forever to prove myself. They mainly let me feed on rats but sometimes they let me hunt with them. But I don’t like to kill people so most of them think I’m useless and stupid. Meredith is nice to me sometimes though. She’s my sire. Sometimes she will bring me human blood that she drained just for me.”

 

Justin starts wheezing a little because this kid looks so innocent and he’s talking about feeding on rats and drinking blood that someone drained for him. This is somehow more terrifying than Vince biting down on his neck or seeing a severed head in the freezer. 

 

He hears footsteps on the stairs behind him. Daniel retreats back into the adjacent room and hides in a corner, which really doesn’t make Justin feel any better so thanks, Daniel. He subtly pulls on the ropes one more time but they are still just as tight. Oh well. It was worth a shot. 

 

“Justin. I am so glad that you are finally awake so we can talk.”

 

Zachariah enters his line of vision and has a deceptively kind smile on his face. He goes over near the wall and gets a chair and sits it across from Justin, then sits down on it himself.

 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. I’ve been so busy with meetings and they will go on all week, I’m afraid. I even have to fly to Miami tomorrow morning and I don’t get back until Friday. But there will be plenty of time for us.”

 

Justin refuses to look at him. He’s not going to make a sound. The fucker doesn’t deserve the honor. 

 

“Are you angry with me, Justin?”

 

Is he fucking kidding him right now?

 

Zach lets out a put upon sigh and strokes Justin’s tied up hand. “I’m sorry that Vince bit you, love. He has been becoming so inconsiderate when it comes to my possessions. I hate that he scared you. You don’t have to worry about him bothering you anymore because I staked him. His ability to tolerate the feeling of vervain means nothing to our coven if it meant that his presence would make you feel uneasy. Would seeing his corpse make you feel better?”

 

Justin flinched and tried to jerk away from the sick fuck. He could tell Zach was annoyed by it.

 

“You are going to have to suck it up, Justin. This is just how things are in life, in death, and in whatever is in between.”

 

Zach puts his hand back on Justin’s again.

 

“I am curious, love. Do you know why you can’t be compelled?”

 

Justin didn’t even know that there were vampires until today so how the fuck is he supposed to know why he can’t bend over for their mind control?

 

“I don’t know either. It bothers me. I am six hundred years old and things like this don’t happen often. I don’t cross by people like you every day. There are exceptions. People who have either ingested vervain or are wearing it in a piece of jewelry. But you aren’t wearing any. We made sure of that. And I tasted you, and oh you taste divine. There was no vervain in your system. I would understand if you were a supe but I would be able to tell right off the bat if you were. From what I can tell, you are human. A beautiful, intelligent human boy…”

 

Since Justin is looking down, he can see Zach’s fitted pants and he really hates that the man became hard just as he said that.

 

“I just need to taste you one more time, Justin. One more time before things change.”

 

Justin braces himself and feels like he is going to vomit as he feels Zach kiss his neck and gently bite in. Physically, it is a less uncomfortable than how Vince had bitten him, but the fact that Zach was 47 times creepier made it much worse overall. Only about ten seconds had passed when Zach released him and bent down to look him lovingly in the eyes. 

 

“I know that my feelings for you must come off as very intense. I become very passionate about things and become a bit obsessive. Like Rage, for instance. I think it would be wonderful to show strong gay characters on the big screen. And, in a way, it led me to meeting you. The fact that I will probably make a lot of money with the film’s release and I won’t have to compel Paul as much to do things for me if we succeed together are both pluses. But those are business ventures and those are ultimately fleeting and come around routinely. With people, it’s different. Yet you…you fascinate me so much. If you had been a woman or if you just weren’t very attractive, I would have killed you right after I found out you couldn’t be compelled. But you aren’t a woman and you aren’t ugly. You are a beautiful, beautiful boy. I am hoping that if you can’t be compelled by a vampire when you are human, then maybe you can obey the vampire who becomes your sire.”

 

Justin can’t stay silent anymore. “Please. Please don’t do this-“

 

“Shh let me explain things, love.”

 

“In a few moments, you will die. Your body will have no pulse and if there is an afterlife, you will not experience it during this time. In twenty-four hours, you will take your first breath in your new life and that life will be eternal.”

 

“No! Get off me! Don’t fucking touch me! Go fuck yourself, you crazy asshole!-“

 

Zach’s face changes and his fangs elongate once again. He bites into his own wrist, making the blood flow out of it. He shoves the wound against Justin’s mouth, takes his other hand to force back his head, and makes him drink the blood that pours down Justin’s throat. He releases him as Justin spits, trying in vain to cough it up. Zach takes his face in both hands and whispers to him,

 

“I will see you when I get back, Justin.”

 

Zach snaps Justin’s head to the side, hearing the confirmative crack. Justin only feels the sharp pain for a second and then feels absolutely nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think in the comments!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brian can't get a hold of Justin and that worries him.

Brian was worried.

 

“Was” being the key word. He was way past just worried now. He hadn’t started out too out of his mind with it. He had been mostly just a little bothered when 3 am came along last night and he hadn’t heard from Justin. He had been excited to see how he liked his first day and see what he had accomplished. Brian knows that he was sort of being a bit over protective when he demanded that Justin call every night. But if Justin really had a problem with that, Justin would have told him and he would have forced himself to back off a little. But he had been concerned. Justin was so young and he was across the country by himself. The fact that some guy had sexually harassed him on his first day there really just made Brian worry more. And when it came down to it, he also missed him even though it had been less than a week since he left. But Justin seemed happy to call and talk to him. And maybe he had worked until late and was really tired. Brian could understand holding off a phone call. But it wasn’t like Justin to not at least text to tell him he was too tired to talk.

 

So yeah. Brian was worried that Justin hadn’t called. After he just felt bothered by it, he got a little angry because he had a hard time sleeping after he finally accepted he wasn’t going to hear from Justin that night. And when he woke up to get Gus ready for school, he got pissed because he didn’t have any missed calls or any texts from him. He hid his agitation from Gus and drove him to pre-school. He walked him to his class and picked him up to give him a hug and a kiss goodbye. He was briefly distracted by how he was feeling when Gus held him extra tight and said, “I come stay with you again soon, right dada? I love you.” He always had the problem saying the words to anyone, no matter how much he fucking loved them. But not to Gus. He would not begrudge his kid of hearing that like his parents had begrudged him and Claire. 

 

Even though had been a little angry, he had also been a little distracted from it due to spending the day with Gus yesterday. It had gone really well and he felt good about it. He was hoping to talk to Lindsay about having him maybe once a week. He would aim for more, but since she and Mel had split up, he didn’t want Gus going back and forth between three parents. Mel wasn’t too happy about it, but she was busy with the baby and tired from giving birth so she didn’t keep him from having Gus for the night. He was a little nervous now that Gus was his own little person and could run around the loft and talk up a storm. He was afraid that he would mess up. But Gus liked the spaghetti he had made. He liked the movie they picked out and cuddled with him while they sat there on the couch and watched it. He spent the last hour before bed coloring and insisting that Brian do the same. And he found that spending time with his son and listening to him go on tangents about school one second and evil robots the next was more fun than he ever had bringing home a trick. He may have a hard time admitting that to most people but after he tucked Gus into bed and read to him so he would sleep, he had been looking forward to telling Justin how much he had enjoyed the time he had with his son. He had been trying to open up a little more to Justin and be the kind of man he deserved. He couldn’t jump right into Stepfordville any time soon, nor did he really want to. But he felt good about their last conversation and was hoping to have another good-hearted one, minus the hot phone sex because he wasn’t going to risk Gus waking up to that. But Justin hadn’t called. Brian called once and texted a few times but his phone was off and he fucking paid for that thing so Justin could have it on and people could reach him. 

 

Despite his anger, he had called a few more times and texted even more once he got to work. Still off. After a few hours, he wasn’t angry anymore. He was worried. By lunch, he hadn’t even bothered eating because he was genuinely starting to freak out. He tried to be logical. Maybe Justin had lost his phone and it had died. But he is staying in Brett’s guest house and surely he could have asked Brett to use his phone or called when he got to the studio.

 

Brian called Daphne and Jennifer to see if they had heard from Justin. Daphne hadn’t spoken to him since right before Justin called him last and Jennifer hadn’t heard from him since he settled in. Daphne was worried and Jennifer was too but also tried to stay logical by saying, “You know, Brian, Justin’s 21 years old. Remember how you were at that age? He is probably spending a couple of days doing his own thing and will call later tonight.” Jennifer had this odd habit of treating him like a rebellious, corruptive, yet endearing son-in-law one second and a co-parent the next. In all honesty, with the way that he acted sometimes and the duties he had taken on in Justin’s life in the last few years, the dual role was probably a little accurate.

 

By 4 pm, he finally decided to call the studio to see if he could reach Justin there. He wanted to avoid this because he didn’t want to come off as overbearing but he needed some piece of mind. He reached a secretary and he asked if a Justin Taylor had come in. However, she had insisted that she was not allowed to give out that kind of information and only people approved on a list given to her by Mr. Keller were able to have their calls transferred back. He hung up on her. He couldn’t stay at work anymore. Something was wrong and he fucking knew it in his bones. He needed to get a hold of Brett Keller and he knew who to get his number from.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“She is so beautiful. Daddy loves you, little one! He loves you so much! Who loves you? That’s right! I do! You are the most beautiful baby in the whole world.”

 

“God, Michael. Give it a rest. You are going to give her a complex.”

 

“I’m just speaking the truth, Mel. We made the cutest baby and you know it.”

 

“…Okay yeah, we did.”

 

The both laugh and it’s a nice moment until there’s a loud pounding on her door. 

 

“What the-“

 

Mel starts to get up to answer it, but Michael hands her JR and says that he’ll see who it is.

 

Michael opens the door and says, “Jeez, Brian! You think you knocked hard enough?”

 

Brian walks in looking stressed to all hell and running his hands through his hair. 

 

“Have either of you heard from Justin?”

 

“He called me two days after he left to check up on me and the baby.” Mel tells him.

 

“He called around maybe 4 o’ clock on Sunday. He said he would email me a picture of the studio and let me know how it went but hasn’t done either yet.”

 

“Then I really need Brett’s number, Michael. I haven’t been able to reach Justin since the other night and I’m getting worried.”

 

“Brian, I’m sure he’s fine. Besides, I promised I wouldn’t give it out to anyone-“

 

“Michael, I need his number now!”

 

Mel usually isn’t one to take Brian Kinney’s side. She has never been on the best of terms with him. But if he is this stressed out and it’s over Justin, then they need to get to the bottom of it so they can know that he’s alright.

 

“Michael, why don’t you call him? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you asked if Justin is with him.”

 

“Yeah. Okay. Brian, do you mind if we do that instead?”

 

“No, now get your phone out and do it. Put it on speaker. I want to hear him.

 

Michaels passes JR back over to Mel and gets his phone out of his pocket and finds Brett’s name. He puts it on speaker and it rings a couple of times, then Brett picks up.

 

“Yo, Michael!”

 

“Hey, Brett. I had something to ask you.”

 

“Since you’re calling, I have something to ask you too. Does Justin usually skip out on the second day of work? Because he was doing a fucking awesome job yesterday and I don’t know if he went home with someone or what, but he was at my house last night and he wasn’t this morning. I get that he’s a kid and this is a big job, but it’s not cool to skip out this early in the game or at all really, you know?”

 

“Uh…no, Brett. That isn’t like him at all. Justin is a really hard worker. He wouldn’t just skip out like that.” 

 

Mel gets worried by what Michael says but that’s nothing compared to how Brian must feel, who snatches the phone out of Michael’s hand and talks into the phone.

 

“Brian-!”

 

“Listen, Keller. You need to tell me the last time you saw Justin because he would be pulling this shit unless something was seriously wrong.”

 

“Hey, last I saw him he said he was heading back to the guest house for the evening. But he said good bye to a few more people. Maybe he decided to explore LA with someone instead. From what I could tell, he was sober and seemed capable of taking care of himself but I was pretty out of it so I don’t know what time that was or anything. I’m not his caretaker.”

 

“Do you just let 21 year olds who are living on your property just disappear? Are you really that much of a selfish bastard to not let their fucking friends or family know-“

 

“Brian, stop!”

 

Michael takes the phone back from Brian and takes it off speaker.”

 

“Sorry about Brian, Brett. He’s just really worried….Yeah, I’m glad you understand…You tried calling him too?....Will you let us know if you see him or hear from him?...Thanks….Yeah, I’ll text you Brian’s number and give him yours….Alright, call Brian or me if you hear anything…Bye, Brett.”

 

Michael hangs up the phone and looks at both Brian and Mel. Brian silently goes over to the computer, sits down, and gets online. Mel is a little confused by it.

 

“Brian, what are you doing?”

 

“Looking up the number for the LAPD. I need to call them and file a missing persons report, then head back to the office and fax them a picture. I could walk down the street to the library to do it, but the picture on my desk is more recent than the one in my wallet…”

 

Mel and Michael both look at each other. The surprise over Brian having pictures of Justin on his desk and in his wallet is drowned out by their worry for Justin and for how Brian is taking this. Mel walks over beside Brian and puts a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Brian,” she says softly, “I know you’re scared. I know. A lot of times they’ll wait a little to investigate after a report on an adult has been made. The 48 hours thing is a myth but sometimes they wait end up waiting that long to really work on the case anyway, in case the person comes back on their own first. I’ll call Carl to see if he can get the station here to reach out to them. Maybe he can pull some strings to get them to bump up the level of urgency a little.”

 

Brian blinks his eyes a few times a nods silently and gets back to waiting for the page to load.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s past midnight. He still hasn’t heard from Justin. The cell phone company couldn’t manage to trace Justin’s phone and that had been upsetting for him. Ted is the one who ends up staying with him. He told Michael to get back home to Hunter and Ben, even though he had refused at first. He must have not wanted Brian by himself because Ted showed up 45 minutes after Michael left. Part of him wants to be alone but a larger part knows that he shouldn’t be left alone with his thoughts right now. He keeps thinking of horrible things happening to his partner. It would fucking kill him if something happened to him. He feels sick to his stomach. He has never felt this scared over anything. In a way, having someone there distracted him a little bit. Ted tried to get him to watch something and try to get his mind off of what was going on, but he couldn’t do that when he was in such a panicked state on the inside. Ted knew that Brian was on the verge of freaking out. At one point, he came to sit next to him and rubbed his back a little bit, which was weird and didn’t help much but Brian guessed he appreciated the gesture.

 

There was only one flight going to LA tomorrow from the airport due to weather. He hated that it didn’t leave until the afternoon but he had booked it because he couldn’t sit across the country and just do nothing. He had to find Justin and he had to be in LA to do that. Jennifer had wanted to come but he told her to wait until the weekend so she could be with Molly. She had protested and said Craig could get Molly in the morning but Brian promised her to buy her a ticket for Friday if they didn’t resolve this by then. They better have fucking resolved it by then. If they found Justin soon and he was in a good enough condition to where he would want to stay in LA to work on the movie, Brian was going to stay there for a while, after he chewed out Justin for scaring the shit out of him. He would lease out an apartment where they could stay and he could come back to Kinnetik after he made sure Justin wouldn’t fucking disappear on them again. If something bad happened but he was alive, he would kill whoever had hurt him and he would bring Justin back home, take care of him, and make sure he got anything he needed. If they only found his body or didn’t find him at all…Brian doesn’t want to think about how he would take that. He can’t. It hurts too much. Every time that thought comes into his head, he can’t breathe and he feels as though ice is clutching his heart. He knows he’s thinking too far ahead but he can’t help but think of every scenario that could be happening.

 

He ends up falling asleep for an hour but that hour is plagued with the worst dream of his life. He is somewhere that is absolutely void of anything. No color, no floor, no ceiling, no walls. Just blackness. But he can see Justin clearly and brightly just a few yards away from him. He yells for him and tries to run towards him but he’s running in place and Justin just stands there and stares at him. Justin moves his lips, but doesn’t make a sound and Brian can’t make out the words. After silently talking to Brian for a minute, his mouth suddenly opens in a silent scream and his face starts to slowly deteriorate. His eyes roll back in his head, his head tilts back, and his skin turns gray. Justin falls backwards and sinks quickly through the void, nowhere to be seen.

 

Brian wakes up screaming. It took Ted several minutes to pull him out of it and he’s too traumatized by what his brain came up with for him to feel really embarrassed by it.

 

It’s 6 am now. Still no word from Justin. Ted makes him some coffee and he almost feels bad because after he woke up, he wouldn’t let Ted go back to sleep. He didn’t want to sit there by himself in the middle of the night after waking up from something that belonged in some fucked up psychological horror film. He takes the time to make sure he has enough stuff packed. He told Ted that he would let him know if he needed to pack some of his things up because he didn’t intend to come back without finding Justin first.

 

He ends up sending Ted to work because he should be there to help Cynthia run things. Brian spends the next few hours restlessly waiting for his car service to arrive but even more so for Justin to call him. The car service comes eventually but the call from Justin does not. 

 

He doesn’t want to turn his cell phone off during the flight. He wants to tell the stewardess to go fuck herself but he can’t get kicked off the plane so he sucks it up and feels sick the whole flight. The man next to him is hot and he is pretty sure he is at least bi but Brian’s not up for a quick fuck and the guy probably thinks he looks like he is about to throw up anyway.

 

His flight got delayed due to some snow a little west from Pittsburgh so they didn’t get to leave until 3 pm. Due to the time difference, Brian lands at LAX at 6 pm. He calls everyone as soon as he lands, including Brett, but no one has heard a word. He gets a taxi to one of the police stations to give more information and to check on what they have been doing. He gets mad when they say that they can only do minimal work on an adult when no signs of foul play have been found and that every adult technically has a right to their privacy, especially when a famous heiress was reported missing just a few hours ago. Brian gets fucking pissed at that but they tell him that Hilton had been at Brett’s party as well. They are unsure if their disappearances are connected since the man she came with told them that he had taken her home afterwards and that was the last he saw her. 

 

After he talks with the police, Brian can’t do much else but go to his hotel. He gets another cab and he ends up going to the room that he booked that’s not too far from Brett’s place. He gets checked in and puts his bag on the foot of the bed. He goes over to the desk and plugs his phone into the wall and then he just fucking stares at it and waits. He doesn’t see the situation changing. Something or someone is keeping Justin from calling. He knows that his partner is in deep trouble, if not dead and fuck he’s not going to think about that because he can feel the tears in his eyes and nothing has been found that would lead to that conclusion.

 

It’s only 8 pm but he knows he’s exhausted but he doesn’t want to fall asleep too deeply on his bed in case someone does call. So he falls asleep with his head on the desk with the phone right next to his left ear. He has bad dreams but luckily not as terrifying as the one he had earlier. These dreams aren’t enjoyable though. He dreams that Justin is in bed with him and they are smiling and happy. But then he’ll turn his head for a second and Justin is gone. He has that dream twice. The third dream looks like it is going to be worse but he gets brought out of it by the phone ringing.

 

He blinks his eyes and realizes that he’s getting a call. He wakes up and grabs his phone to look at the Caller ID but he doesn’t recognize the number. He picks it up.

 

“Hello? Justin?”

 

He hears someone crying on the line. He knows that it’s Justin. He knows because the instant he hears his sobs it fucking feels like a knife to his heart but at the same time it he feels such intense relief because Justin’s alive. Despite wanting to stay strong for him, those intense, conflicting emotions and wondering just what the hell Justin had been put through fucks him up and he starts crying too. 

 

“Sunshine? That you?”

 

“….Y-Yeah.”

 

“Oh…Oh, Justin. I’ve been so fucking worried. Are you alright?”

 

Justin starts crying harder.

 

“Justin, I need you to tell me where you are.”

 

“I can’t I can’t I can’t I-“

 

“Justin, you know how I said that I would catch the first plane if you were hurt? I did it and I’m here now. Please tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”

 

“They’ll hurt you. I got away but they are going to be so pissed at me. If they find me and you’re with me, they’ll hurt you. I can’t let them hurt you. I love you. I love you more than an-anything.”

 

Brian bites his lip as he hears Justin dissolve into tears again. 

 

“Oh, Sunshine. I’m already hurting. It hurt me not being able to get a hold of you and it hurts to hear you this way and to not know where you are. Don’t you know that I love you too?”

 

Justin whimpers and says, “I love you, Brian. I love you so much. But I can’t-”

 

“I know you do. And you can. If the situation were reversed and you couldn’t find me only to hear me a couple of days later on the phone like this, you would want to know where I was and come get me, right? No matter what?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“Tell me where you are, Sunshine. We’ll get through whatever is going on, I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read and review! Next chapter will be from Justin's POV and start from when he wakes up so don't think I tried to cheat my way out of that. ;) Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin wakes up.

He wakes up.

 

He flutters his eyes and every slight movement of his neck hurts so badly. His limbs burn and parts of his body are stinging. He is lying down now. It takes him a second to remember what happened. Once he does, he doesn’t want to get up. He doesn’t want to face the truth of what happened. He’d like to think it was just an intense and somehow physically painful nightmare but he feels his naked body against the cold cement floor beneath him and he knows that it isn’t.

 

“I untied you. I didn’t want you to wake up like that.”

 

Justin hears Daniel’s voice come his right but he doesn’t acknowledge it. He knows he shouldn’t take it out on him. He’s just a kid. Or is he a kid? If he has stayed the same for almost ten years then that would mean that he’s older than Justin.

 

Daniel stands over him with a blanket and squats down to cover him up.

 

“I snuck upstairs so I could get this to cover you up. You weren’t supposed to wake up for another couple of hours or so.” Daniel takes a hand and tries to smooth Justin’s hair.

 

“Don’t touch me.”

 

“I’m really sorry about what happened. I wish I could have helped you, but I couldn’t. Zach’s really strong. A lot stronger than me. He only puts up with me because Meredith turned me and he turned Meredith.”

 

And what is Justin supposed to say to that? Maybe he should say ‘It’s okay, I understand’ but it’s not okay. And maybe he could understand why Daniel couldn’t help him but he doesn’t understand how he got here and how this is even real. 

 

But he sure as hell isn’t going to stay here and mope. He stands up and wraps the blanket around his body to cover himself.

 

“Who’s all here?”

 

“Just me for right now. I was nervous to be left alone with you because you are probably really upset. Meredith said she would be back before you woke up but you woke up early. Everyone else is away. A few of the others are still in LA and Zach went to Miami. Zach wanted Meredith here when you woke up because he thought she might be able to coax you into your life with us better. But she’ll be back as soon as she finds you someone to eat.”

 

Justin freezes at that because 1: it fucking disturbs him and frightens the hell out of him and 2: as soon as Daniel says it, the subtle gnawing hunger he was feeling before grows a little. He has to put it out of his head. He has to. Just for now until he can figure out just what the fuck he is going to do. And all he knows right now is that he needs to get the fuck out of here.

 

“So no one is here? Just you?”

 

“Um, yeah…”

 

“Good.”

 

And since the blanket is too long to not possibly trip him, Justin drops it and runs. It’s faster than he has ever run before and he doesn’t think the reason for that is just fear and desperation. But he’s not nearly as fast as Daniel, who manages to stop him once he gets to the kitchen by tackling him to the floor. 

 

“Justin! Stop! You can’t! You will be in so much trouble.”

 

“Get the hell off me!”

 

“You will get me killed!”

 

Justin stops struggling at that. Daniel looks down at him and slowly gets off of him, then holds his hand out. Justin doesn’t take it and pushes himself up. If he had clothes on, he’d probably brush them off but he doesn’t. Right now, he honestly doesn’t care that he is naked in front of this stranger. He wonders if this is how Brian feels whenever he walks around nude in front of whomever he pleases. He’d probably be proud of him if it weren’t for the fact that standing around nude in front of strangers is nothing to Justin in comparison of what is probably to come. But Daniel doesn’t seem that bad. Really weird and maybe a little slow, but he comes off to Justin as a victim as well. Maybe he can try to build up some kind of reasoning with him. However, he sees sunlight coming through the tiny square window shining on his arm. He remembers what Daniel said before about not being able to go in the light and jumps back.

 

“Don’t worry! Zach had all the windows lined with UV film and sunlight won’t kill you until after you start feeding anyway. If you went outside right now, it would just feel a little hotter and be a lot brighter. You’ll get a sunburn more easily too but that’s it.”

 

Justin clears his throat and takes a step back towards Daniel.

 

“Then that’s all the more reason for me to leave now. Daniel, I can’t stay here. I have friends and family who care about me. I disappeared from my job after the first day on it and my boyfriend will know that there’s something wrong if I don’t reach out to him. You don’t know him. He pretends that he is laid back and doesn’t care but it isn’t true. He is stubborn and he will search for me until the day that he dies. I need to get back to him. So please, let me leave.”

 

Daniel looks conflicted. “I want to let you go, I do. But you don’t know what they’ll do if you make them mad. Zach will have you tracked and he will rip my heart out without a second thought. Meredith wouldn’t even stop him at that point. And she is the only person here who cares about me but if I fuck things up that much-”

 

“Then come with me. Don’t you have a family somewhere that you left behind?”

 

“No, Meredith killed my mom and told me she did it because she would be a better mom to me than my old mom ever was.”

 

Fuck.

 

“Daniel, why would you want to be with someone like that? Why would you want to be with someone who killed your mother and makes you stay in the basement most of the time?”

 

“Meredith loves me. She means well.”

 

“But you can’t be happy here.”

 

Justin thinks he breaks through to Daniel for a second when he sees tears fill his eyes but Daniel blinks them back and shrugs.

 

“I have to go, Daniel. I need to try.”

 

To Justin’s surprise, Daniel nods. And to Justin’s absolute bewilderment, Daniel goes over to the basement door and breaks off part of the door frame and hands an approximately 10 inch long piece to Justin.

 

“In case someone tries to stop you. Not that they won’t be able to do it anyway but you can at least try to def-”

 

Both of them hear a door swing open and the sharp click of heels from what Justin is guessing is the foyer on the other side of the house almost hurts his ears.

 

“Go sit down, dear. And don’t move from the couch.”

 

Daniel runs back into the basement and leaves Justin in the kitchen. From the hallway, Justin can hear Meredith speaking to him and it’s loud enough to be as though she were right next to him.

 

“Justin, are you trying to corrupt my protégé already? Shame, I've had him be so good for years. I could tell that you were going to be a little spitfire as soon as I heard you cursing out Zachariah.”

 

Justin slowly makes his way out of the kitchen and into a dining room with the stake in his hand, trying to keep guard. 

 

“I am so disappointed in Daniel. I thought the defiance drained out of him years ago. He has been such a good boy for a long time. However, he’s always been a bit dim and I suppose the rat blood diet didn’t help. But I didn’t think he would turn on me like this. He’ll need to be punished.”

 

Justin can hear her footsteps getting closer but he also sees a window that he could maybe break and get through. He wonders what the best way to go about this is but he is getting the feeling that there is no way to easily hide from a vampire. So he just runs over there and breaks it. He almost gets a foot out until he’s grabbed by Meredith and thrown across the room. He ends up hitting the opposite wall and sliding down to the floor.

 

“Justin, I went out and found a wonderful smelling young man for you and this is how you give your thanks? Waltzing around here without any clothes on and destructing the house? I don’t appreciate that at all.”

 

Justin dropped the stake when he was thrown and it is a couple of feet away from him. He tries to reach for it but Meredith kicks it and steps on his hand. 

 

“What were you trying to do there, huh?”

 

Justin gets up on his knees and crawls over to her. He gently holds onto her leg.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m just really scared. I don’t know what’s happening to me. I don’t-”

 

And then he grips her leg as hard as he can and pulls it out from under her.

 

Meredith falls to the ground and Justin runs to grab the stake. By the time he gets it Meredith is getting back on her feet and smirking.

 

“You gonna kill me? Gonna put that through my heart and watch my skin turn gray? I am 183 years old. You can’t kill me-”

 

And, despite his brief stint with the Pink Posse, Justin has never been for physically attacking people. But he charges at her. She looks surprised that he manages to knock her backwards but gets over it and retaliates by tackling him to the ground and getting her hands around his neck. Of course he drops the stake again in the process.

 

“Lose your weapon again? Just give it up and behave. Things will be much easier if you do.”

 

Justin tries to mimic her chokes by reaching up to put his hands around her throat too but she is just out of reach to cause her any true discomfort and he is starting to accept that she may have won but then he sees the splintered wood just within reach by his thigh. He pretends that he is starting to submit but then quickly grabs the stake and, with the limited amount of space he has, stabs her with it.

 

Meredith’s mouth opens in a painful gasp and her eyes widen in surprise. she looks down at where the wood is sticking out in her chest but then starts laughing and looks at Justin with humor dancing in her eyes.

 

“Your aim is a little off, Justin. You miss-”

 

Meredith never gets to finish her sentence because a large piece of wood goes through her heart and stops just inches away from Justin’s. Her mouth goes slack and her vibrant red hair dulls. Little grayish brown veins start to travel through her face as she takes her last breath. The wood is pulled out from her body and she collapses on top of him. When Justin pushes her body off of his own, he sees a shaking Daniel holding the bloody stake in his hand.

 

“Daniel-”

 

“I can’t believe I did that. Why would I-oh god! Meredith?! Oh god!”

 

Daniel goes over to Meredith’s body and cries into her chest. Justin sits there for a second and watches him. Daniel gets up and wipes his eyes. After he takes a few breaths to calm himself down, his eyes seem to change. Somehow, he seems more aware of himself. Then he begins to speak.

 

“You need to go. I’ll go get you some of Vince’s old clothes. I think he was the closest to your size.”

 

“Daniel-”

 

But Daniel is already out of the room and up the stairs. In record time, he is back with a pair of jeans, shirt, and some boxer briefs. Justin thinks he may pass on the boxer briefs because he sure as fuck isn’t going to wear the underwear of a guy who chopped off someone’s head and fed on him.

 

So he pulls on the jeans and the black shirt. The jeans are a little long and hang loose on his waist and the shirt is a little baggy but not ridiculously so. Daniel stands there and looks sad and resigned. 

 

“You can come with me, Daniel. We’ll figure out something out for you. It’ll be okay.”

 

“It’s daytime, Justin. I can’t leave.”

 

“Well, what about Meredith? She went out.”

 

“She has a custom ring made by a witch. Magic does wonders but that ring only works for her.”

 

He’ll get shocked over there being witches too later.

 

“Well, what time does Zach come back? Maybe I can stay until sunset and then we-”

 

“No, you can’t. He’ll be back tomorrow afternoon but you need to get as far as you can and get your scent as far away as possible.”

 

“But what about you?”

 

“Maybe I’ll take the van and go somewhere. I don’t know. We need to figure out what to do with the guy that Meredith brought back. Even though her hold on me died with her, his compulsion might last until someone changes it.”

 

Daniel walks into the living room and Justin follows him. Sitting on the couch is a man who looks to be in his mid-twenties. He has shoulder length straight black hair pulled into a ponytail and tan skin. He is sitting on the couch in a trance and Justin is concerned about him until he can hear a heartbeat.

 

_thu-thump thu-thump thu-thump._

 

It pounds in his ears and makes his mouth water. The air smells good and his stomach starts to clench a little more with hunger. He takes a step back and tries to hold his breath a little more. He can see that Daniel is affected by it too, possibly as much as he is. But he is probably more used to the feeling so he is able to walk towards the man and stand in front of him. He lets out a shaky sigh. Daniel puts a hand under the man’s chin and has the man look at him.

 

“Look at me.”

 

The man directs his eyes towards Daniel and stays silent.

 

“What is your name?”

 

“Carlos Gutierrez”

 

“Where do you live?”

 

“Cantil, California.”

 

Daniel looks at Justin and tells him, “That’s about 45 minutes away.” Then turns back to Carlos.

 

“Do you know how to get there from Ridgecrest?”

 

“Yes. I’ve lived in the area my whole life.”

 

“You are going to direct Justin on how to get to the border of Cantil. He will drop you off there. Do you have a phone?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then you will just have to walk from there. Cantil is small. You can manage. After Justin drives off, you will not remember any of today. Do you understand me?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Good.”

 

“Daniel-”

 

Daniel walks over to Meredith’s purse, pulls out her wallet, and gives Justin some money. Then he starts pushing him towards the door.

 

“You need to go. Here are her keys. She drives the Prius. Take some cash. She has 250 dollars on her and it’ll help with gas and maybe a motel room if you need it. I would offer you her phone but she has a security code on it and even if she didn’t, Zach will track it if you leave it on or go by where the last call was made and try to catch your scent from there if you turn it off in between calls. Just get on the road and get him to Cantil. Do not go back to Los Angeles. Drive away from California. Drive fast but don’t get pulled over. Do not call the police. It will probably just end up getting them killed or compelled. Try not to kill Carlos. Being in a car with him will be hard but you’re strong and I think you can keep yourself from losing control.”

 

Daniel pushes Justin out onto the porch and he leads Carlos out as well. The porch is kept shaded by a roof but Justin from what Justin can see past it, the sun has never been brighter. He steps out onto the desert dirt and turns around to see Daniel on the porch still.

 

“What are you going to do?”

 

“What’s left for me to do? I’ve more or less lived in that basement for ten years. I didn’t finish school. I don’t have any talent. My sire is dead because I killed her and she isn’t the first person I’ve killed. What am I supposed to do? Go on with life and pretend I’m human only to move after ten more years when people realize I’m not aging? That is, if Zach doesn’t manage to catch me and rip my heart out or stake me.

 

“I....”

 

Daniel takes a deep breath. 

 

“I know what I need to do. You need to leave now. Don’t turn back. Just get out of here and don’t stop for anything.”

 

“But-”

 

“Now!”

 

Justin doesn’t need to be told again and leads Carlos to Meredith’s car. He gets into the driver’s side, starts it up, and pulls out of the driveway. He turns and starts to drive down the road. He looks into the side mirror to look back at the house and at Daniel one last time. He cries out and almost swerves off the road when he sees him step out into the sun and burst into flames.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

He is going insane. 

 

Carlos is sitting there like he wasn’t kidnapped and mind controlled and he smells so fucking good. Justin is glad he is so weirded out by that because he is pretty sure that the fact he still thinks that drinking blood is taboo and wrong is the only thing that is keeping him from pulling over the car and gnawing into his jugular. Part of his brain is still trying to be logical and say, ‘Now, Justin. You know that you aren’t really a vampire. There is no reason to want to drink this man’s blood.’ But he does. His body knows that he needs it. He could manage it okay in the house and outside. But they are closed up in a small Prius and the smell is almost smothering. 

 

“I’m rolling down the windows, okay?”

 

“Okay, amigo.”

 

It helps a little bit. Just enough for the rest of the time he has with this man.

 

“Turn right up here.” Carlos says to him when they approach an intersection.

 

He does and follows the rest of Carlos’s directions. He ends up stopping near a sign that says ‘Cantil: Population 112 Unincorporated.’ Fuck, Daniel was right when he said it was small.

 

“This is my town. Very small but it has a fair amount of history to it. Honda used to have a testing track here!”

 

“Sounds fascinating. You can walk from here?”

 

“Yep. Thanks for the ride, man.”

 

Carlos hops out of the car and gives him a smile and a wave when Justin turns around and drives off. What the actual fuck.

 

He keeps the windows down for a little bit to air the car out. After the smell is gone, he is sort of rational again. It also brings back the intense fear over what is happening and the guilt and sadness over Daniel, even though he barely knew him. But he can’t start crying about it. It’s hard for him to see to drive in this light anyway, even with the sunglasses he found in the compartment in between the seats. But after the fear, guilt, and sadness, the panic starts to set in. He saw two people die today and a man who became obsessed with him within a few days of meeting him is going to put together what happened. Most likely he will come after him. He needs to get out of here. Justin goes into in flight mode because he needs to get as far away as possible. 

 

He only has to stop for gas once. He remembers he used to bug Brian about getting a Prius and Brian would look at him in disgust because it wasn’t a ‘classic.’ But Justin doesn’t think he has ever been so grateful for a hybrid car in his life. That one stop gets him into Nevada around 9 pm and he’s checking into a small independent motel in twenty minutes outside of Vegas called Slumbering Inn. He gets the cheapest room available and goes in it with just the stolen clothes on his back.

 

He feels so dirty. The drive gave him a lot of time to think and he needs a shower to calm himself down. So he strips down and stands under the temperamental shower head.

 

He doesn’t want to die. He really doesn’t. But even more so, he doesn’t want to live like this. He doesn’t want to be this thing who could attack someone any second because they’re hungry. He wants to experience daylight and maybe he could as long as he didn’t feed but how long would that really last? It may be weak of him, but he has been seriously contemplating whether or not to end his life before he hurts anyone. In all honesty, he has been leaning more towards doing it. 

 

Justin steps out of the shower and dries himself off. He takes a look down at his body and sees there are bruises and raw looking patches of skin, along with bite marks on his thighs, wrists, and neck. His hand was better when he woke up though so that’s one good and mysterious thing. It makes him feel sick to see how many places Zach had fed on him but at least he could assume where those wounds came from. He didn’t understand where the raw skin and bruises were coming from at all. He rubs one of the raw places on his side and the top couple of layers of skin start to come off. He fucking can’t deal with this. He covers up the wound when he puts on the complimentary robe and sits on the bed. 

 

He kept himself from stopping somewhere that would have a phone to call Brian. He stayed focused on getting out of California. But now he had one. He keeps telling himself that he shouldn’t call him because he plans on letting Brian go, whether he ‘lives’ or dies. He doesn’t want Brian getting hurt or killed because of him or by him. But Justin can be so fucking selfish. He is scared and he wants to hear his lover’s voice even if it is for just one last time.

 

With shaky hands, he picks up the phone and dials Brian’s number. It rings a couple of times and he breaks when he hears Brian’s worried voice.

 

“Hello? Justin?”

 

He can’t stop crying long enough to confirm it’s him. He had thought he would never hear Brian’s voice again and the fact that he is but it might be for the last time just pushes him off the cliff he has been standing on the edge of for days. On the other end of the line, he hears something he has never heard before: Brian Kinney crying right along with him.

 

“Sunshine? That you?”

 

Justin clears his throat and gets his emotions under control just enough to answer.

 

“….Y-Yeah.”

 

“Oh…Oh, Justin. I’ve been so fucking worried. Are you alright?”

 

Justin starts crying harder.

 

“Justin, I need you to tell me where you are.”

 

“I can’t I can’t I can’t I-“

 

And he really can’t. Not if it affects Brian’s safety.

 

“Justin, you know how I said that I would catch the first plane if you were hurt? I did it and I’m here now. Please tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”

 

“They’ll hurt you. I got away but they are going to be so pissed at me. If they find me and you’re with me, they’ll hurt you. I can’t let them hurt you. I love you. I love you more than an-anything.”

 

Justin breaks down again. He thought he would never get the chance to say that to Brian again.

 

“Oh, Sunshine. I’m already hurting. It hurt me not being able to get a hold of you and it hurts to hear you this way and to not know where you are. Don’t you know that I love you too?”

 

Justin whimpers. He is so glad he got to hear that before he died.

 

“I love you, Brian. I love you so much. But I can’t-”

 

“I know you do. And you can. If the situation were reversed and you couldn’t find me only to hear me a couple of days later on the phone like this, you would want to know where I was and come get me, right? No matter what?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“Tell me where you are, Sunshine. We’ll get through whatever is going on, I promise.”

 

“I’m sorry, Brian. I just wanted to tell you goodbye.”

 

“Wait! Don’t you fucking hang up that phone on me, Taylor!”

 

Justin pauses and listens to Brian’s shaky breaths.

 

“I have been a fucking wreck since yesterday. I know we can work on fixing whatever it is you are going through. Justin, please. You were there for me when I had cancer. Now let me be there for you. Let take care of you.”

 

And Justin knows that Brian doesn’t know the severity of the situation. Knowing Brian, he has probably been trying to keep his cool while he was internally freaking out over thoughts of Justin being taken, tortured, and raped. But what really happened is something that Brian doesn’t even know is real, let alone is something that he would know how to handle. But like Justin had previously established by calling Brian in the first place, he was fucking selfish. He wanted to see Brian and touch him. He felt like it was the one thing he needed to have a little peace when he ended his life. 

 

So Justin told him where he was and waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read and review! B/J reunite next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brian drives to Enterprise, Nevada to find Justin.

Brian has never felt fear over hanging up a phone. Until tonight, that is.

 

After he got Justin to tell him the address of the motel he was staying at, Brian told him that he was going to call the police to update them on the situation. Justin had begged him not to call them and Brian had tried to reason with him. They needed to know that he had gotten a call from Justin and Justin needed to report whatever had happened to him. Why would he want to keep them from catching whoever had done this to him? Was he ashamed? Was he that afraid? Brian would kill them. He would fucking kill them. He would make it painful because they hurt Justin. He doesn’t know how they hurt Justin. He could guess though and he would ruin them. 

 

But when Brian had tried to reason with him through his frustration, Justin threatened to leave where he was and disappear. He had already been scared by Justin saying that he was calling just to say goodbye. What the fuck had he meant by that? So he wasn’t going to push it. He kept him on the line while he powered up his laptop and plugged in the Ethernet cord. He looked at flights to Vegas and the last one of the night had left at 9:50 which was about half an hour ago and the next one wouldn’t leave until 6:15 am. He wasn’t going to wait that long. He wasn’t going to risk the flight being late, thus making him later from being with Justin. He decided that he would just drive a rental car to Nevada. Enterprise, Nevada was about less than 4 hours away. Brian thinks that he could probably make it in 3 and a half if there wasn’t any traffic. He could get there sooner by driving than he could by taking the first flight. He ended up reserving a rental car with the 24 hour rental office at LAX and then forced himself to end his call with Justin after making him promise to stay where he was and telling him that he loved him again. It’s strange how radically his feelings had changed when it came to saying those words.

 

He got his shit together and went downstairs to the lobby so he could arrange for a car to pick him up. He thinks he must have come off as desperate because the girl at the front desk stopped what she was doing and got it done as well as got him checked out even though he had reserved the room for the week. He waited about 20 minutes for the car to arrive and jumped in once it did. He was back at the airport once again and ran through it so he could get the car and get on the road. He probably looked nuts by the time he got there but he didn’t care. They apparently didn’t either and they gave him the keys to the SUV and he was off. 

 

He tried to keep to the speed limit and only go faster when he was positive he could get away with it. He had never felt such a sense of urgency. The drive seemed to take forever even though there wasn’t any traffic but he did eventually get across the state line and ended up finding the hotel that Justin was staying at around 3 am. He parked his car and went to the door with 113 on it. He knocked on the door. Why the fuck was he taking so long? He put the phone to his ear to call the number that Justin had called from again and it rang a couple of times. He pounded on the door again while it was ringing but stopped when Justin opened the door.

 

Oh my god. What had they done to him? There were bruises and puncture marks on his neck and his left cheek looked red and raw. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looks so drained. Who knew what he looked like under that robe? He tries to control his breathing so he can break the silence.

 

“Justin...oh, Justin.”

 

He steps in and gently puts his arms around him and Justin absolutely loses it. He clutches onto Brian and Brian tightens his hold and holds back the tears that are threatening to fall. 

 

“Shhh...you’re going to be alright. I’m here now. I’m going to take you home and I’m going to take care of you.”

 

“You can’t! You can’t…” Justin sobs out.

 

“I can and I will.”

 

Justin is trying to catch his breath but then suddenly grows silent and tightens his hold on Brian to the point where it’s painful. Brian feels him borrow his face into the crook of his neck and breathe in deeply through his nose.

 

“Justin?”

 

“NO!!!! NO NO NO!!!”

 

Justin shoves him back. Hard. So hard that Brian falls on his ass and before Brian can blink, Justin is in the opposite corner with his knees pulled up to his chest. He sits there wheezing while he stares at Brian. He doesn’t know if Justin is having a panic attack or a flashback and it’s making him confused or what so Brian gets up and approaches him slowly and tries to stay non-threatening.

 

“Justin, it’s me. It’s just me, Sunshine.”

 

“I know.”

 

“May I come closer to you?”

 

“No.”

 

“Okay. May I ask why?”

 

“You won’t believe me.”

 

“Why wouldn’t I believe you?

 

“You just wouldn’t. It’s hard for me to believe too, don’t worry.”

 

“I’m pretty past not worrying, Justin. I know you don’t want to deal with what is going on. And if you don’t want to make a report right now then I won’t force you. But please, just let me take you to go get checked out.”

 

“No.”

 

“Justin, you need to go to the emergency room.”

 

“They can’t do shit.”

 

“What are you talking about? You need examined and treated. You haven’t told me what you went through but if there were things that did and they can collect any evidence…” Brian trails off. He doesn’t want to know, but at the same time he needs to know what exactly happened to his partner. It keeps him from conjuring up all of these images in his head and needs that information to care for him properly.

 

“If you are asking if I was raped or something, then I’m not sure. They had me knocked out for several hours and I woke up tied up and naked. I was too freaked out and distracted to check down there and if it did happen then I’m not going to dwell on it. It’s not important.”

 

“Not important?!”

 

“More pressing things to worry about.”

 

“Then tell me so I can help you, Justin! Please! What’s more pressing than that?”

 

“I’m hungry.”

 

“You’re hungry.”

 

“I got a bunch of crap at the gas station I stopped at and had food delivered by the diner down the road but it only helps for a little bit and then I’m hungry again!”

 

Justin suddenly stands up and throws the wood nightstand against the wall, where it _shatters_.

 

“Justin, calm down.”

 

“I CAN’T!”

 

“We are going to get thrown out if you keep throwing furniture around!”

 

Justin stops at that and tries to settle but Brian can see him practically vibrating. 

 

“Talk to me. I need to know at least the gist of what happened, even if you won’t give me the details right now. Just give me the bullet point list.”

 

Justin lets out a sigh and sits on the bed.

 

“You definitely wouldn’t believe me if I just gave you a quick rundown…You really want to know?”

 

“Want to? No. Need to? Yes.”

 

Brian cautiously goes over to the bed to sit next to Justin. He puts a hand on his back and feels Justin stiffen at the touch and that sort of hurts but he seems to calm down when he moves his hand in soothing circular motions. Justin takes a while to talk. He keeps taking deep breaths out of his mouth but eventually he starts.

 

“That man, the one at the party a few days ago? He apparently didn’t get the message that I wasn’t interested. I thought I wouldn’t see him again and I had pretty much forgotten about that it happened. My first day at work was amazing. I really loved it. We brainstormed and worked really hard on everything. These people who have been in the industry for 25 years were taking my opinion seriously. We worked for like eleven hours but it flew by. Around 7, Brett got a call from the secretary out front saying that one of the executive producers was outside and Brett somehow forgot to put him on the list but Don was cool about it when he came back. With him was that guy. Brett didn’t act any differently but he seemed to genuinely like the guy after Don said that he was going to give ten million to us for Rage. Zach, that’s his name, came over and introduced himself to me and I felt so fucking uncomfortable around him. I can’t explain it. I just never felt that ill at ease around someone before. Zach suggested to Brett that he have another get together at his house that night and Brett said that he wanted to keep working. Zach demanded that he do it and Brett did as though he wanted to in the first place, which I know he didn’t because he was planning on staying at the studio until midnight. I told him that I wanted to stay and keep working but Zach had told him to make sure I come so Brett insisted that I leave with them. So I felt no choice but to go back to Brett’s place. I had to sit in the same room as him while all the fucking elite arrived and Zach had Brett let some of his friends in too.

 

Justin takes a breath and continues.

 

“I could feel his stare on me the entire night. I hated it. I tried to ignore him and talk to people but I would see him out of the corner of my eye. At one point he was looking at me and obviously talking about me with one of the people he invited and I decided that I was too uncomfortable staying there and decided to go to the guest house. All I fucking wanted to do was call you and go to bed. I told a few people that I was done for the night. I took one last look around the room to see if I could see Zach there but didn’t see him. So I went through the yard and got to the door. It was unlocked even though I could have sworn that I locked it. All the lights were off and just as I was about to go over and turn on the lamp, I hear Zach’s voice in the room. He was there with the friend he was talking to before. His friend grabbed me and I fought back but he was so strong. He broke my wrist when I tried to punch him.

 

Brian quickly looks down and grabs Justin’s wrist to examine it. If it has been broken for a couple of days without any kind of support then it should hurt like a motherfucker and it could cause lasting damage which is something Justin doesn’t need, considering his talent and his career. But it looks okay. Justin holds his hand up to stop him and continues with the story.

 

“I managed to kick him in the shin and I tried to run for the door but Zach was standing in front of it and shoved me back. I fell and Zach straddled me. He started saying this weird and creepy shit about how ‘divine’ I smelled and how he wanted to be inside me and I didn’t understand all of it at the time. But then he stuck a needle in my neck and I was out. And I guess they kept me out for several hours.”

 

Justin starts to get a little shaky at this point and doesn’t seem to have complete control over what comes out of his mouth and Brian is afraid for what is about to come. 

 

“I woke up, tied up to a bolted down chair and completely naked. I was so confused. This guy comes out. He was one of the men Zach invited to the party. His shirt was covered in blood. He told me that his meal had struggled but it was fine because he had a souvenir. There was a fridge in the corner and he opened up the freezer door and fucking Paris Hilton’s severed head was in the center of it. I couldn’t breathe. I was fucking terrified. He came over to me and asked why couldn’t I be compelled, then said something about checking for vervain. And then he had fucking fangs and his eyes changed. He bit down into my neck and I was freaking out. Some woman stopped him. She’s dead now. I tried to kill her by stabbing her in the chest but I missed her heart by like an inch so Daniel did it instead but Daniel went outside and burst into flames and I don’t want to be like this! I don’t want to be like them but Zach came down and fed on me then gave me his blood and snapped my neck and I have no choice now! I was dead for a day and then I woke up and tried to kill Meredith and Daniel is dead because of me and I can’t do it, Brian!”

 

What the fuck? What the hell is Justin talking about? Did they do something so awful to him that he re-imagined something equally as awful but impossible? Fuck, this is bad. Justin needs to see someone. He will go and find the best psychiatrist in Pittsburgh for him to go to and make sure he deals with what did happen.

 

“Sunshine, you’re not making any sense. What you’re saying is-”

 

“I told you that you wouldn’t believe me! I fucking told you that! But look at me, Brian!”

 

Justin stands up in front of Brian and takes off his robe. And Brian gasps because who would do something like this to Justin? Who would mark his body this way?

 

“The bites on my neck, wrists, and thighs are where Zachariah fed on me while I was unconscious and awake. I don’t know what the bruises and raw skin are but it’s peeling and it’s disgusting. I dug in too closely here and my fingers just sunk in and it stinks and I know what’s happening to me but I don’t know what’s happening to my body and I can’t do it. I can’t I can’t I can’t-“

 

Brian gets up to find Justin’s clothes. He is not going to let Justin sit here when he needs to be in a hospital. He doesn’t know what’s going on with his lover but he needs both physical and psychological help and the physical part needs to come first because there are parts of his skin that are oozing and look infected.

 

“Get your clothes on. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

 

“Brian, no!”

 

“I’m not taking no for an answer, Justin! You were tortured and somehow given some sort of flesh eating virus I guess, I don’t know! On top of all that, you are saying that you died but you have to be logical enough to know that you are standing right here and you’re alive!”

 

“I am now, but I wasn’t before! I know it sounds completely nuts, I get it. But they fucking turned me-“

 

“Into what? A vampire? You know they aren’t real, Justin. You know that. Maybe this is some kind of coping mechanism, but I’m going to get you help, okay? I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

 

“You aren’t-“

 

Justin doesn’t get to finish because someone kicks the door down. Brian immediately stands in front of Justin and blocks the view of his body from whoever this fucker is.

 

“Who the fuck are you? Get out! You have some nerve-“

 

“I don’t know who you are and I don’t particularly care. I came to fetch the kid behind you for Remington. So if you don’t want me to kill you, then get out of my way.”

 

“Fuck you, you aren’t touching him.”

 

The man sighs and moves his head to the side to try to see Justin.

 

“Justin? That is your name, right? You may want to get your guard dog to back down. You know what people like me have the power to do.”

 

Justin immediately pushes Brian out of the way and takes a step towards the man but is stopped by Brian holding onto his wrist.

 

“How did you find me?”

 

“Please, do you think that Remington doesn’t keep a tracker on Meredith’s car? She occasionally used to get these thoughts into her head about turning kids so she could care for them herself. The maternal instinct was strong in that one. Too bad she had such a warped perception. He couldn’t get a hold of her and couldn’t feel her presence so he tracked her car to the Slumbering Inn of Enterprise, Nevada. Since this is my territory, he called me up and asked me to find you. He felt like you may have gotten away. Now that I’ve found you, I’ll get you back to his ranch where you belong. But you are looking awfully bad, Justin. You’ll need to feed before we go any-“

 

The man is interrupted by a fist going through his chest. 

 

He falls face first to the ground and behind him stands a man with piercing gray eyes and a beating heart in his hand. Justin is rooted to the spot but takes a look at Brian, who looks like he has gone into absolute shock and Justin thinks he may be mentally going through the story that he told him again. Justin looks back at the man and sees him crush the heart in his fist and throw it over his shoulder.

 

“Sorry you had to see that. But I figured you wouldn’t want to go back with Howard here. I’ve been keeping an eye out for you ever since I saw you at the gas station. You smelled like my brother and I knew he had forced someone to turn again. It was too great of a coincidence that we were at the same station at the same time, especially since Zachariah gets so upset when we are in the same state. I try to avoid him as much as possible. We haven’t seen eye to eye since before we were turned.”

 

“I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Finn Remington. I’m going to try to help you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read and review! It would mean a lot to me!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin learns his options and weighs them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! And in case you didn't see my message that I posted on this story before (now deleted) I am taking prompts. Try to keep the prompt one or two sentences and give me a genre. You'll get credit for it in the notes and see a story you've wanted to read but couldn't find. Thanks!

Justin is worried about Brian.

 

He knows that his boyfriend is in shock. Fuck, Justin’s in shock. But the last 48 hours or so have proven to be a nightmare so he’s almost numb to the fact that there’s a dead man face down on the carpet with a fist sized hole that goes clear through his back and out through the front of his chest. Witnessing violent death has become a new norm for him.

 

But not for Brian. Brian is in such an awful state right now and has barely said a word. He is white as a ghost but becomes completely feral and guards Justin with his body and his life whenever Finn moves even half a foot. Finn doesn’t seem to mind too much though. Probably because Finn could easily fight off Brian if need be but Justin does appreciate that he is not pissed at Brian’s behavior and actually seems to understand it.

 

“Brian, I’m not going to harm you and I am not going to harm Justin,” Finn tells him as he wipes his bloody murderous hand off with a handkerchief. Do people still carry handkerchiefs? Apparently Finn does.

 

“Finn-” Justin starts to say.

 

“Justin, don’t talk to him!” Brian hisses at him as he clings tightly to his arm. Justin feels the skin starting to tear and Brian jerks his hand back and gently picks up the disgusting arm to inspect it.

 

 

“He’ll keep doing that, you know,” Finn says to them as he pulls the desk chair closer to the bed.

 

“Keep doing what? What is happening to him?” Brian demands to know.

 

“Justin, what all have you told him?”

 

“I told him basically everything I know,” Justin confirms helplessly.

 

Finn nods his head and looks over to Brian, “Then you know what is happening to him.”

 

Brian takes a breath.

 

“No. No, I don’t know what is happening to him. What he told me is something that is impossible. And I know that he wouldn’t make something up just to fuck with me. But he’s had a horrible couple of days and he’s had his head fucked with. He’s just confused and needs help,” Brian says as his voice breaks.

 

“Brian…” Justin says as he rubs Brian’s back.

 

“I know this is difficult for you. For both of you. But I need you to keep an open mind about this. You did see me tear a man’s heart out with my own hand, after all. I think that should indicate that there is truth to what Justin has told you. Try to not automatically dismiss what I’m about to say.”

 

To Justin’s surprise, Brian gives a small and hesitant nod. Finn nods back and continues.

 

“My brother is obsessive. That should be needless to say. He spots men and he tries to claim them by turning them against their will. It isn’t right and it upsets me. I try not to get attached to people but I would never do what he did to you to the women I have had in my life. It’s lonely but that’s life for a vampire. Sometimes Zachariah lets that loneliness get to him. He reacts and doesn’t think about how the person he’s enamored with feels.”

 

“Loneliness does NOT give him the excuse to kidnap and torture my partner!” Brian rages.

 

“I agree. I’m sorry that he did that to him. I truly am.”

 

Brian doesn’t seem to know what to say to that.

 

“As much as your story affects my heart, this has shit to do with getting Justin better,” Brian points out.

 

“I know. But it has something to do with whether or not he wants to get better.”

 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

 

“Justin has three choices right now. He can keep resisting the urge to feed and not taste human blood. It will be hard but he can manage. If he chooses to do this, it will be a fatal choice. More of his skin will rot off. Eventually you will be able to see his bones on certain places in his body. In three days or so he will start to lose mass amounts of weight. Probably thirty or forty pounds total. In the last couple of days, he will lose his vision. He will be weak. He won’t remember the people in his life and he will be begging for someone to kill him because he physically won’t be strong enough to even pick himself up. If no one does him the honor, he will eventually fall asleep, never wake up, and pass on his own. If Justin decides to take this path, he would maybe have eight or nine more days if he’s lucky. Or unlucky.”

 

“Bullshit! He’s not going to die-”

 

“What’s option two?” Justin interrupts.

 

“You feed. From a stranger, from a friend, from your lover. They don’t have to die but the first time you ingest blood, it has to be directly from the vein. If you do this, you will become like me. You won’t suffer easy injuries. You will be able to compel people. You will not age. You will be fast and strong and your senses will be stronger than you ever thought possible. As long as you regularly drink blood, human blood is preferable since it keeps you much more sane and filled, you will be able to ingest food and drink whatever you want. And if for some reason you would starve yourself or be starved, you would be hungry and feral but you would never return to the state you are in right now. There is the absolute worst case scenario where you get locked in a tomb for a decade by your own brother and you mummify and have constant silent night terrors since you are trapped in your own body and have nothing else better to do but I bounced back from that and you could too.” 

 

“What?!” Justin screeches because seriously: What the fuck?

 

“Don’t worry about that. I don’t think it happens often. As long as you ingest blood, you will still mostly be able to act like a normal human being. Personality-wise, you can be the same person you are now. You will no longer be able to have children, not biological ones at least. You will not be able to go into the sun but a ring can fix that. I have witches I can refer you to. Where are you from?”

 

“Pittsburgh.”

 

“Ah, I would send you to Marilyn then.”

 

“What are the downsides to this? Besides having to drink blood and not being able to have children?”

 

“You will become volatile for a while. You will still be Justin but it will be hard to remember that when you’re hungry, if you aren’t getting your way, or if you are truly angry about something. You are reborn in a sense. Think of the first few months, or few years in some cases, as your terrible twos. Some people do fine, but you will be emotionally charged. Combining that with your strength and need for blood, that can be lethal. You need to make sure you feed on a regular basis. At the very least a pint every other day. Some blood every day would be preferable. You don’t have to kill anyone but it often happens to a new vampire. And, like myself and like Zachariah, you will watch everyone you love grow old and die. It will be tempting to be reckless when this happens but whatever you do, do NOT switch off your humanity. It takes a while to come back from that and by the time you do, you may have left several bodies in your wake. But at least you’ll still be young and handsome except for the times where your face looks like this.”

 

Finn’s fangs elongate and his eyes change. Justin feels Brian stiffen and Justin knows that he is panicking, even though he is trying to hide it. Justin can’t hide it as well for a different reason.

 

Justin feels his heart drop and his breaths coming in and out quickly. He feels Brian’s arms come around him and his face press into the crook of his neck. He can hear Brian trying to whisper reassurances but they aren’t working. He can’t do that. He can’t live like that. Somehow he manages to calm himself down, even though he feels like he having the worst panic attack of his life.

 

“What’s the third option?”

 

Finn sighs and looks at him directly in the eyes.

 

“You skip the slow and painful death of option one and put a stake through your heart now.”

 

Brian stands up and stands over Finn.

 

“Don’t tell him that. Don’t fuck with his head.”

 

“I’m just letting him know what his choices are. Or are you still not believing a word that is being said to you?”

 

Brian clenches his fists and glares at Finn.

 

“Brian.”

 

Brian turns around to see Justin still sitting on the bed and waits for Justin to say more.

 

“I think it’s best if I go with option three. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

 

Brian bends down, gently grabs Justin’s shoulders, and shakes him.

 

“Shut up. Shut up, Justin. You are not fucking doing this to me. We will figure out something else, alright?”

 

“What are you going to figure out, Brian? Neither of us know shit about this. It isn’t some normal disease. I hate that I’m putting you through this but this is MY choice, not yours. I’m sorry but this is the way it has to be. I am not going to make you watch me waste away but I can’t watch everyone I l-love die either-” Justin breaks off, puts his face in his hands, and quietly sobs. He feels the bed dip next to him and Brian’s strong arms pull him into his chest. He presses light kisses onto Justin’s head and Justin feels Brian’s tears wet his hair. Justin tries to pat his leg to comfort him but it doesn’t do either of them any good.

 

“I’m not letting you die. I know it’s probably fucking selfish but I can’t. It would fucking kill me, Sunshine. If you off yourself, you should know that I’ll be going with you before your body is even put in the ground.”

 

“Brian, no! You have Gus and we’re not Romeo and Juliet. Please stop. Please please ple-” Justin sobs out as he holds onto Brian’s arms.

 

“That’s the way it will be. I’m not just saying it to get you to reconsider. I am stating the facts. Don’t doubt me on that. I love you. I love you so fucking much. I can’t lose you, Sunshine. I can’t-” Brian breaks off and starts sobbing into Justin’s cheek. 

 

If Justin weren’t so distraught right now, he would probably be embarrassed that Finn has to witness them this way. From the corner of his eye, he can see Finn rolling the chair back to the desk and sitting with his back to them. But all he can concentrate on is Brian. He has never seen him like this. Ever. He knows it would be the best for everyone if he did this quick. They would be upset and they would mourn but they wouldn’t have to watch him waste away and they wouldn’t be in danger just because of who he could become. Brian has to realize that Justin is doing this for everyone’s own good. He has to realize that no matter what, he’ll lose at least a part of Justin one way or another. He also has to realize that he has friends and family to lean on. Michael sort of has a full house with Hunter and Ben but maybe Brian can stay with Lindsay or with Ted. Yes, Lindsay or Ted could take care of him and make sure he wasn’t alone. They were his friends and they could watch over him. Eventually, he would be okay. After the pain died down a little he would be able to go forward with his life, right?

 

But fuck, Brian was inconsolable right now. Justin was trying to wipe away Brian’s tears with one hand and hold him with the other, the delicious smell of his blood be damned. He tried to calm him down but Brian was too far gone in his pain. Brian was the type to not show how hurt he was and the fact that he isn’t even trying to compose himself scares Justin so much. Maybe if he calms down himself Brian will be able to calm down too.

 

“Brian, you’re going to be okay. You’re going to fine. I want you to stay with someone for a while though, alright? I don’t want you at the loft by yourself. Stay with Ted. I know you pretend not to like him but I know you do. He cares about you a lot and I know he will keep you company and take care of you. Besides, he lives alone and has enough room. I would suggest Mel but you’d claw each other’s eyes out,” Justin’s half-assed joke doesn’t get Brian’s heart wrenching sobs to lighten up. All it does is make Brian painfully whisper, “Please stop, I can’t, Stop.”

 

“No. I need to make sure you aren’t going to do anything stupid after I-”

 

That brings Brian out of his sorrow for a minute. He pushes Justin away from him and he gets up and starts pacing.

 

“After you what, Sunshine? After you fucking stab yourself in the chest? After you get someone else to do it for you? Fuck you, Justin. I’m not the one being stupid here. You are. You have a chance to live and you are too afraid to take it because what you’ll be scares the shit out of you. And hell, I get it. It scares the shit out of me too. But it’s not going to drive me away. I’ll open up a vein for you myself so you can get what you need, alright?”

 

“I’m not drinking your blood-”

 

“I’m letting you. And I know you won’t hurt me. Not intentionally. We’ll work on it. We made you the best homosexual you can be so we can make you the best vampire you can be.”

 

“Jesus Christ, Brian. You thought I sounded crazy earlier? _You_ sound crazy.”

 

“Well, it is driving me insane that the man who has been my partner for almost four years is giving up like there is no other option!”

 

Finn walks over to cut in.

 

“Justin, I’m not going to sway your decision one way or another. But if you _do_ want to try being a vampire, I will put you in touch with people I know. They are decent people. They can help you with control and they can make sure Brian and your friends are more physically equipped if you feel as though you are out of control.”

 

“I don’t know-”

 

“Justin, _please_. Please don’t end your life.” Brian quietly begged him as he looked down at the body that lay there more or less forgotten.

 

“I need a day. Just a day. Will that affect things too much? With me?”

 

“When did you wake up?”

 

“Yesterday around 2 pm.”

 

“You should be okay. Try to be easy on your skin. Since you are taking some time to decide, you need to eat a lot. Get fast food, gas station snacks, whatever you can to curb the hunger. Drinking alcohol helps, since it hinders your senses. It may calm you down a little too. You shouldn’t turn now anyway. It’ll be sunrise soon and the two of you really need to get on the road. If you decide to turn, turn right when the sun sets. That way you can travel at night and get a hotel room to sleep in during the days. Do not take Meredith’s car.”

 

 

“I have a rental.”

 

 

“That should be fine for now but trade it in somewhere soon for another vehicle. Try not to leave a paper trail so use cash whenever possible. Get as much as you can from ATMs or, even better, have a friend wire a larger sum to you. Keep moving until you get back home. I will make some calls to some people in the area and tell them about your situation and Zachariah. I can get them to do some protective spells as soon as you let me know you’re home and we’ll go from there. If you turn that is. If you decide to end your life, then it was a pleasure meeting the both of you. Any questions?”

 

 

“Uh, I guess not.” Justin says to him.

 

“Good. Now go. I’ll take care of Howard and get the car somewhere else. It might throw Zachariah off. Here’s my number. Call me if you have any questions. From a pre-paid cell phone. Just buy a couple at a Wal-Mart, buy some minutes, and get them activated. I doubt Zachariah has much, if any, information on Brian. He probably doesn’t know too much about you even but let’s play it safe because he will start to ask around and compel people for information. Where were you staying in California? L.A?”

 

Justin nods.

 

I’ll need a list of people who Zachariah knows you know. That way they can give him the wrong information. Just write it down and be on your way.

 

Justin got a piece of the motel stationary out of the desk drawer and wrote down Brett Keller, along with Clyde Schumerman, Don Parrish, Mae Easton, Connor James, and a few other people who may know anything substantial about him or his anyone in his life. He gave the list to Finn. Finn looked at it and nodded then folded it up and put it in his pocket.

 

“Go on. Call me this evening and let me know what you’ve decided. I wish you luck.”

 

Justin barely had anything on him except for the clothes he was wearing so he didn’t have anything to pack. He and Brian were out the door within a few minutes and got into the SUV. The sun was just starting to rise and Justin put on Meredith’s sunglasses in preparation for the harsh rays that would eventually come. He laid his head on the passenger side window as Brian drove and, despite the strong smell in the car, he felt so tired and closed his eyes. He opened them when he felt Brian reach over a put a hand on Justin’s to hold it. He gently squeezed Brian’s hand back. 

 

“Just shut your eyes, Sunshine. It’ll be alright. Just rest for a little bit and I’ll wake you up for breakfast,” Brian gently told him.

 

Justin didn’t want to sleep. He really didn’t. He wanted to take in Brian and spend as much time with him as possible in case he didn’t change his mind. But he was so tired. And if he slept, he may be able to escape the smell of Brian’s blood. So, with Brian’s hand still in his, Justin closed his eyes and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter should be titled Brian and Justin cry a lot but that seemed rude given the circumstances.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When night falls, Justin makes a decision.

Justin lasts fifteen minutes before running out of the diner.

 

The concerned looks of the other patrons had been bad enough once they walked in. But his hunger made him try to stick it out. He knew that once he got a good meal in his stomach, he would be okay for another hour or so. They shouldn’t be stopping but Brian thought it might last longer than the gas station snacks they had been getting.

 

So they stopped at Carly’s Roadside Diner, which was a few hours away from Enterprise. Brian slid in next to him rather than going to sit on the other side of the booth. That did manage to keep Justin from immediately running away or attacking their waitress but then his hunger redirected itself to Brian. It was easier to control himself around him because he loved Brian. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt him. But the primal part of his brain, the one that had just grown in strength since he was turned, was screaming, “ _FEED FEED FEED_ ” That part of him didn’t give a shit whether or not Brian got hurt in the process. He really hates this newfound part of himself.

 

When the waitress asked them what they wanted, Justin ordered the largest meal he could find and Brian ordered several things to go. Justin thought he could handle it. He had managed to be in the car for almost an hour with Carlos and not kill him, even though he had no emotional attachment to the guy. But the longer he waits, the worse his appetite gets. He can handle being in the car with just Brian as long as he rolls down the window every so often. But there are almost twenty people at this pit stop restaurant. He can hear their blood pulse through their veins and their hearts beating. He feels like the sound is mocking him. He doesn’t even have a heartbeat now. It stopped about an hour ago. Brian doesn’t know that. How in the hell would you explain that to someone? He knows that it’s because he’s technically dead and hasn’t fed yet. Finn did say that as long as he feeds, his bodily functions will go on as though they’re normal. He knows that his heartbeat stopping is probably one of the steps towards option one. He doesn’t want option one. He doesn’t want any of the options to happen but he’ll have to choose one of them soon. He’s not sure if he wants option two or three. If he chooses option two, he doesn’t want to go about it by massacring everyone in the diner.

 

“I have to go. Give me the keys,” he tells Brian, already sliding into him to get out of the booth.

 

“Justin, you need to eat,” Brian tells him before his eyes narrow, “What are you planning on doing?”

 

“I’m not fucking running away, if that’s what you’re thinking. I wouldn’t just leave you on the side of the road. But I have to FUCKING GO!” 

 

Several people turn their heads but Brian turns and glares at them and they look back at their plates. 

 

“I’m just going to wait in the car. I’ll eat in there if you get a box for my food. There are too many people here and it’s taking a lot of will not to rip everyone to shreds so please let me out of the booth,” Justin urgently whispers.

 

Brian’s eyes flicker with what looks like fear but he does comply by letting him out of the booth and handing him the keys.

 

“Don’t do anything rash or stupid, Justin. Unless you see that Zachariah fucker then don’t go anywhere, okay?

 

Justin nods and takes the keys from Brian’s hands, then goes out to the car and waits.

 

He feels awful about putting Brian through this. He can see that Brian’s fucking exhausted and has barely slept since waking up Tuesday morning. It’s Thursday now. How is it only Thursday? It feels like it has been so much longer, which makes no sense since he was dead through all of Tuesday. The only thing keeping Brian up is his fear over what’s to come and his paranoia that Justin will off himself any second. Brian has picked up so much coffee over the last few hours on the road. He’s jittery because of it and probably shouldn’t be driving right now. Adding the caffeine intake to his fear, paranoia, and exhaustion equals out to Brian looking like he’s five minutes away from a nervous breakdown but he’s Brian Kinney so he’s refusing to show his fears like he did early this morning. Justin knows Brian wants to stay strong for him and take care of him. Jesus, they were so fucked up. They definitely looked fucked up, with Brian in his state and Justin with his raw skin, looking wild eyed with hunger. The people at the diner probably thought they were fucking crystal queens.

 

From the parking lot, he sees Brian through the window of the diner. Brian is staring back at him and looks away only to look for their food. The waitress does come by with the food and Brian must ask her for boxes and the check and get everything taken care of because he’s up and running with the bags of food and comes back out to sit in the car. 

 

“Chow down, Sunshine!” Brian says with fake cheer.

 

He can tell that Brian isn’t that hungry, due to nerves. He’s trying to eat for Justin but he’s more focused on his coffee.

 

“Brian, how about I drive? I managed to drive to Nevada without any problems.”

 

“No. You need to rest. Finn said that if you took it easy, the symptoms wouldn’t progress as quickly.”

 

“Brian, you’re the one who needs to rest. You are absolutely exhausted. That’s your seventh coffee since we left the motel. I knew it was a bad idea to stock up on that bottled shit at the last stop. It would be too much if you were in a good mood. But you are nervous, upset, and freaked out. You’re going to end up having a severe panic attack if you keep this up. Making me worry about you isn’t helping me to ‘take it easy.’”

 

“I’m fine, Justin. Now eat your food.”

 

Justin sighs, eats one of his strips of bacon, and tries to ignore Brian’s bouncing knee and jittery fingers. He’s so hungry that he doesn’t even mind Brian staring at him with a little too much intensity.

 

“How much did you get for the road?”

 

“A few orders of pancakes, a couple orders of waffles, and several salads. I ordered extra sides of bacon and sausage for you but it won’t stay good for long so eat it within the next hour. I don’t want you getting sick.”

 

“I think getting sick off of spoiled meat is the last thing I have to worry about. Brian-“

 

“Don’t fucking bring it up! I’m not letting you die so just shut up when it comes to the suicidal ideation!”

 

“Regardless, it’s still the last thing I’m worried about.”

 

Brian doesn’t answer. He just starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot. 

 

They drive for a couple more hours before going to return the car at a sister dealership and renting out another one. Their new car is just some Honda Sedan that doesn’t stick out. Brian drives over to a Walmart and tells Justin to stay put as he goes in to get whatever it is that he needs. When has Brian ever needed to go to a Walmart? Has he ever stepped foot into a Walmart? He’s in there for about forty-five minutes but soon enough Justin sees him come back with several bags and a cooler.

 

“What all did you get?”

 

“Two prepaid phones, several shirts and pairs of pants, a pair of sneakers and boots for you since we’re not getting your shit back from Brett any time soon, some more food, toothpaste, a couple of toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, a sketch pad, some pencils, charcoal, and pastels so you can draw, a couple bags of ice, and a cooler. That way we can keep things cold while we’re on the road.

 

Justin wants to point out that he is probably not going to be around much longer and won’t change his clothes more than once but he already knows that Brian is stressed out enough and will throw a fit if he hears Justin say that. 

 

Except for one stop for gas and shitty hotdogs, they don’t stop until sunset. They find a cheap motel in Burlington, Colorado and Brian pays for it in cash. They get Brian’s suitcase and the shopping bags into their room and both of them sit down on the bed.

 

“I haven’t gotten the chance to call anyone. I’ve kept my cell off since we left got on the road. I figured we should use the prepaid cell phones anyway.”

 

“I don’t really want to talk to anyone right now. I don’t know what to say to them.”

 

He feels Brian kiss his shoulder. “Alright. I have about eight hundred dollars on me. I was able to get a couple hundred at every ATM we stopped at. We have enough for a couple more days but I’ll need to call Ted and have him wire some more so I don’t have to worry about my bank freezing my account. He’ll ask about you. I can just tell him that I’ve found you and that you’re safe. I’ll get him to try to ease everyone else’s minds but we’ll deal with them later.”

 

Justin lets out a shaky breath but tries to cover it. He turns his body so that he can run his fingers through Brian’s hair.

 

“You have to be exhausted. When’s the last time you slept?”

 

Brian shrugs. “I slept maybe an hour the night before I left and on and off for two hours before you called. I’m okay.”

 

“Brian, you need to sleep. I’m not trying to be rude but you look like you are about to fall apart at the seams. Get some rest.”

 

Justin gets up to try to gently ease Brian down but Brian holds on to his wrist and stares up at him. 

 

“Lie down next to me. Please.”

 

Justin nods because how can he deny a request like that? He goes to the other side of the bed and kicks off his new sneakers. It was a good thing that Brian bought them because they fit a lot better than Vince’s shoes. He lies down next to his lover and puts his arm around Brian’s middle. He and Brian rarely spoon. When they do, it is usually Brian who initiates it and Justin who is always the little spoon. Brian doesn’t seem to mind though. He just laces one of his hands with Justin’s and mumbles, “I’m just going to sleep for an hour. Wake me up, okay? You’ll be here when I wake up?”

 

“Yeah, Brian. Just rest now. Everything is going to be alright.”

 

Justin rubs soft circles on Brian’s belly to try to lull him to sleep. He does end up drifting off and Justin quietly untangles himself from Brian’s body, takes his sketch pad and a pencil, and heads for the bathroom.

 

He hates lying to Brian. He really does. But what else can he do? Brian is a fucking wreck and he can’t do this while he’s awake. Justin may have doubted that Brian loved him at one point. He had good reason to think that since he thought he wasn’t enough for him. But Brian has proven in the last couple of days that he’s in this for the long haul. He couldn’t see some happily married people doing what Brian has done for him today. He doesn’t want to hurt Brian this way but what choice does he have?

 

So he writes a note. Something just to Brian. He tells him how much he appreciates him, how much he loves him, but more importantly, how much Brian deserves love and can find it again one day. It may be hypocritical, but he needs to tell Brian that life is worth living even after Justin is dead.

 

Justin refuses to let Brian be interrogated on his death. He won’t let him become some sort of suspect. He’ll have to find a place to do it in front of people so that there is no question that the stake in his chest was the result of a suicide, not a murder. As much as he hated the idea of traumatizing a group of people, it had to be done. Brian would wake up and know he was gone. He would figure out where his body was from the news probably. That would be bad enough but at least Brian wouldn’t be a murder suspect.

 

So he leaves the note on the bedside table and he goes out the door. He doesn’t take the car because that will cause Brian problems. As he walks, he breaks off a piece of a telephone pole. It takes a lot of his strength. It has been draining in the last several hours. But he was lucky to get a nice chunk so it won’t be too much of a problem to get it through his heart. There is a shopping plaza not too far away, maybe two miles down the road at most and he’s walked over half a mile already. It’s only 8 pm so some of the stores should still be open. He can go in and do it there and it will all be-

 

“Where the FUCK do you think you’re going?!” he hears Brian say to him from the car. Damn it. Justin had expected him to sleep for hours. He had to have woken up no more than twenty minutes after Justin had left. Brian pulls the car over and jumps out to intercept him.

 

“Brian, please! Just go back to the room! You are going to be fine, okay? I’m sorry but I haven’t changed my mind so let me go!”

 

Justin weakly beats at his chest. He could use all of his new strength on him but Justin isn’t sure that he would be able to walk after that. He doesn’t feel as strong as he did earlier and he doesn’t want to hurt Brian anyway. Thus, Brian is able to keep a strong grip on him even as Justin struggles.

 

“Put down the stake, Sunshine. I’m not letting you do this. Just drop it.”

 

“No! I would never control YOU like this, you fucking prick. Fuck you! Get off of me, you miserable asshole!”

 

“Stop it with the names. I read your damn suicide note so I know this name calling spiel is bullshit. Get in the car.”

 

“Fuck you! I did it to make you feel better! I don’t give a shit if this hurts you so fucking leave!”

 

“Justin, calm down!”

 

Justin takes several heaving breaths and can’t keep up the fight anymore. He lets his back fall into Brian’s chest and he just _wails_. Brian tightens his hold on him and he hears him whisper, “Shhhh, let it out. It’s okay. I’ve got you. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

 

Brian takes Justin’s weight as he stands there and cries. His head hangs down and he sees tears drip off his nose and fall down onto the sidewalk. Justin gathers himself and clears his head. He needs to make Brian see reason.

 

“I need to start walking. I thought that shopping plaza would be a good place to do it. I need to make sure I do this in front of people so you won’t be suspected of anything.”

 

“Not going to happen. Sorry.”

 

“I have to do this, Brian!”

 

Brian loosens his grip and turns Justin around.

 

“If you are so set on dying, then I’m not letting you die surrounded by strangers. You need someone who loves you there. So here I am. Get on with it.”

 

“I don’t want you watching me. I don’t want you-”

 

“Being a murder suspect, yeah I get that. But I told you I wouldn’t stick around for long if you killed yourself. My body will be cold before they can even question me. They’ll just assume it was a murder-suicide or a suicide pact. Not really my problem what they think.”

 

“Stop being such an idiot! I’m doing this for a legitimate reason! You are doing it because you’re what? Lovesick? How pathetic. You are Brian Kinney. You’ll be fine.”

 

Brian looks like he wants to hit him. He doesn’t though. He just says:

 

“What if it were me? What if I was standing here with a stake in my hand, ready to kill myself at some supermarket?”

 

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not you. It’s me and it’s my decision.”

 

“Just fucking imagine it’s me. Do that for me. Try to imagine me like the way you are now, dead set on ending my own life when there is another way out of this. Imagine the fucking pain I feel right now, Justin! There are people willing to help you. You have Finn. Even though he freaks me out, he seems like he genuinely wants to help. He has connections back in Pittsburgh so you won’t lose control. You have your friends and family back home who would be devastated if anything happened to you, let alone if you killed yourself in some store. And you have me. I will stay with you every step through this. I will not leave you. I will keep you safe and I will make sure you get what you need and won’t hurt anyone. Don’t make me lose you.”

 

Justin stares into Brian’s eyes and sees the pure heartbreak that he is feeling. The fight starts to leave Justin’s body. He struggles with it, but he ends up dropping the piece of wood. Relief floods Brian’s expression and he leads Justin back to the car.

 

They drive the short ride back to the motel in silence and Brian comes over to the passenger side to get Justin out of the car and lead him up to their room. He sits Justin on the bed and kneels down between Justin’s knees.

 

“Do you hate me for this?”

 

He knows Brian is talking about the fact that he’s trying to make Justin do this. He still doesn’t want to do this. He wants to turn back the clock and tell Brett to get someone else to work on Rage. However, time travel hasn’t been proven to him like vampires have been so that’s impossible right now. But he could never hate Brian. He understands where Brian is coming from. He would probably be doing the same thing if Brian was trying to kill himself. He would try to make him choose this option. So he shakes his head no and Brian stands up to get something out of his pocket.

 

A Swiss Army Knife.

 

“I bought this when we stopped. I figured since you won’t have your fangs until after you feed, it will be easier if I already have an open wound.”

 

Justin doesn’t answer and keeps his eyes on the knife.

 

“Finn said you should change tonight. It’s tonight, Justin. Are you ready?”

 

No, he isn’t ready. He doesn’t want this. He doesn’t particularly want to kill himself but he doesn’t want this either.

 

But he’ll do it.

 

He’d want Brian to if he were in his position.

 

So Justin nods. Brian nods back as he puts the knife to his wrist and makes a horizontal cut. Blood starts to drip down to Brian’s hand and Justin’s mouth waters.

 

The smell overwhelms him. He is only able to fight it for a few seconds before he roughly grabs Brian’s wrist and starts to suck.

 

It doesn’t suddenly taste different now that he’s a vampire. It still tastes like blood. But it’s like his taste buds have changed to not only accommodate the taste, but to make it as though it is the best thing that he’s ever tasted. Maybe it’s hormonal. Sort of how women start to love or hate the taste of things once they become pregnant. Or how you hate the taste of so many things when you’re a kid but after several years you try things again and you love them. Maybe it’s because it’s Brian’s blood and it’s a pheromone thing. All he knows is that he wants _more_.

 

He hears Brian gasp as Justin’s fangs grow in and pierce through Brian’s skin. Justin is briefly concerned that he hurt him but that concern is overruled by excitement because there’s more of it now. He has mouthfuls that he can swallow and it tastes so fucking fantastic. 

 

“Justin. Justin, you have to stop.”

 

Justin hears him but he doesn’t compute it. He takes in more and more and he feels his strength coming back and his skin healing. He has never felt so strong and healthy in his life.

 

“Justin, please!”

 

The panicked tone hits Justin like a brick. He unlatches himself from Brian and jumps away from him, further onto the bed. He sees Brian standing there, a little pale, with blood and bite marks covering his wrist. He knows the wound isn’t going to kill Brian but he feels a surge of fear and concern for him and his body is moving without his permission towards his lover. 

 

“Justin, it’s fine. I just need to put pressure on it. It’s nothing lethal-”

 

Justin is biting his own wrist and putting it to Brian’s mouth before Brian can finish his sentence.

 

Brian looks shocked and frightened but he does swallow. Justin knows he has. He can sense him even more now. 

 

He pulls his wrist away and his wound quickly closes up. He lifts up Brian’s wrist to inspect it and it does the same. 

 

“How did you know to do that?”

 

Justin takes a few breaths and manages to shrug. He just knows. He gets up and heads to the bathroom. He looks at his face and there’s no question about it. He’s not human. He has fangs and fucking creepy eyes. Brian’s blood is covering his mouth and is starting to drip down his chin. He should try to go back to looking normal. He doesn’t want to scare Brian more than he already has. He doesn’t know how to look normal again though. He bends down to wash his face. The primal and instinctual side of him is slowly leaving but it’s still there. He starts to push it down to speed up the process. He starts to think of Brian and that’s when it starts to get weird. The part that was so hungry and demanding before starts to feel loving and incredibly protective and possessive. He doesn’t know what to make of it at all. He just needs to tell himself that Brian needs him and he needs to see Human Justin right now, not Vampire Justin.

 

His face is back to normal when he looks in the mirror again. 

 

His ears tune into the other room and he can hear Brian on the phone. He can clearly hear the person on the other line and recognizes Finn’s voice. 

 

“He agreed to do it. He drank from me and he turned.”

 

“I’m glad he decided to give it a shot. Did he hurt you?”

 

“Not too bad. I would have been fine if he hadn’t given me his blood. I’m sort of wondering why he would do that. You didn’t say anything about it being able to heal injuries. Isn’t that how he was turned?”

 

“He fed you his blood.”

 

“Yeah, when he saw my wrist he rushed over without saying a word, bit his fucking wrist open, and put it to my mouth.”

 

“Just…try not to die in the next couple of days if you don’t want to become like him. I’m going to make some calls and arrange for your arrival in Pittsburgh. You are going to have to drive back though. At least part way until you can catch a short red eye flight and not risk going out. Justin can’t go out in the daylight until he gets a ring and the east coast is my territory so I can’t get him one until then. If you wish, I will have your windows reinstalled with UV film just in case Justin would wander around without his ring on or lose it. I don’t recommend that, by the way. What’s your address?”

 

“Six Fueller Court, Apartment C. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222.”

 

“Great. It’ll be done before you get back. May I speak to Justin?”

 

Justin comes out when he hears that and holds his hand open for the phone. Brian looks at him sheepishly and hands it over. Justin takes it back into the bathroom and shuts the door.

 

“Finn?”

 

“Justin. You sound better.”

 

“I could have killed him.”

 

“But you didn’t. You managed to pull away.”

 

“I practically mauled his wrist first.”

 

“It will be easier now that you’ve fed and have fangs. Your marks can be clean punctures rather than messy as long as you are careful.”

 

“Finn…how did I know that my blood could heal him? You didn’t tell me that and I don’t think Zach said anything either.”

 

“Vampires are very…instinctual. If it were a stranger, you probably wouldn’t have known what to do. Tell me, and I’m sorry if I come off as personal, but did you feel any sort of connection towards Brian after you fed from him? Did you feel it become stronger once you gave him your blood?”

 

“Yes. I don’t know how to explain it, but yes. Does that mean something?”

 

“It can mean something. It is usually felt when a strong bond is already or potentially there. It makes sense since you two are together but there have been many vampires who didn’t feel it towards their partners yet vampires who have felt it towards strangers. It usually means that the relationship is very precious and special. As some of my witch friends would say, “Something designed by the gods.” Who knows if that’s true? They’re all a bit dramatic, if you ask me. It’s a good thing but often your vampiric side will become very protective and possessive over that person, especially if they are human. Humans are vulnerable and you’ll want to take care of him, especially after feeding because you’ll be putting him in an even more vulnerable position by doing that. When you saw him hurt, you let that side completely take over and it knew what to do to make him feel better. Being a vampire can almost be like split personality disorder, to be honest.”

 

“That isn’t reassuring at all.”

 

“It’s a tough road to take. But it’ll get easier after a while. You’ll gain control and I’ll make sure you have people working with you. I live in Manhattan so I’ll visit from time to time and make sure everything is going smoothly. When you get to Pittsburgh, Marilyn will make a daylight ring for you so you just have to be careful on the trip home. Drive at night and get a hotel room before dawn every night until you get back. Make sure you keep the curtains closed so no direct sunlight comes in. As you probably overheard, the loft will be ready for you to stay in without worrying about the light until you get your ring. I’ll call if any concerns come up but I have faith in you, Justin. I think you’ll be one of the few who do okay.”

 

“Why are you doing all of this for me? You don’t even know me.”

 

“Partly because of guilt. It was my brother who turned you, after all. But also respect. It takes a lot of nerve to run away from him or one of his protégés.”

 

“Thanks. I guess.”

 

“Have a good night, Justin. You should rest easier now that your skin isn’t rotting.”

 

And on that note, Finn ends the phone call.

 

Justin goes back out to the bedroom and sees Brian sitting on the edge of the bed, nervously looking in his direction. He stands in front of Brian and gently pushes him back so that he is lying down. Justin straddles him and looks down at his lover.

 

“You are going to settle down and sleep for the rest of the night. You are exhausted and I want you to obey me on this.”

 

He expects Brian to put up a fight and worry about Justin’s mindset. But Brian just nods with a, “’Kay.” Justin scoots off of him and sits on the other side of the bed. He watches Brian silently go brush his teeth, take off his clothes, and get under the covers. He doesn’t understand. Brian hates being bossed around, even if it is something trivial. Maybe it is because Justin agreed to live for him but Brian can act like a toddler when it comes to-

 

Oh. Right. He can compel people now. Shit, that is so creepy. Kind of cool, but creepy. He needs to make sure he keeps that ability in check a little more and figure out how to order commands without forcing someone to do something against their will. But this time, he’s going to forget about it. Brian needs the rest so it’s for the best that he just lets the compulsion work its magic.

 

Justin checks the drapes and makes sure they’re shut then gets under the covers as well. Brian is already half-asleep but he pulls Justin in to hold him.

 

“Don’t wanna wake up alone this time,” Brian lethargically slurs out as he burrows his face into Justin’s neck.

 

“You won’t, Brian. You won’t.”

 

Within minutes, Brian falls asleep, clutching onto him as his soft snores hit Justin’s neck. Justin doesn’t mind. As much fear, wariness, and wonder that he feels over what’s to come, he could use some sleep too. So he hugs Brian’s arms closer around his body and he manages to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, folks! Please read and review!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin starts to realize how many things have possibly changed on his first morning in his new life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of a precursor chapter (with a fair amount of smut.) Some of you may like the direction and some of you may not. There will be more violence and action coming up in the next couple of chapters and hopefully they will be back in Pittsburgh by chapter 11. Enjoy!

Brian wakes up a little before Justin. 

 

He finally feels rested after days of built up worry and fear. Days that ended up making him have an emotional breakdown, uncontrollably and unashamedly. Days that led Justin to try to kill himself and led Brian to desperately beg him not to while he physically would not let him go. Days that were concluded with Brian cutting into his arm with a Swiss Army knife he bought at a Walmart and Justin sinking his teeth into his flesh to get more than the wound would offer. He had prepared himself to feel disgust or fear while he watched his lover feast into his wrist but he didn’t. He felt relief, affection, and something strong and unbreakable that was probably love. He only started to panic when Justin wouldn’t stop, but he did. Justin had listened to him because he felt the same way as Brian did. 

 

He’s surprised that Justin was able to sleep through the night, considering how prone Justin was to nightmares. Hell, he’s surprised that he didn’t wake up screaming either. Maybe it was because they were both exhausted and the trauma that the two of them went through would hit them later. He hoped that Justin didn’t suffer through it quietly to let him sleep. He told him that he would be there every step of the way. He wanted to be there for him. These past couple of days made him realize how much he wants Justin in his life permanently. 

 

So here it is, 6:35 in the morning. He’s keeping an eye on the curtains to make sure not one ray of light is going to shine through once the sun starts hitting their motel room. He takes a quick shower and gets straight back into bed. He wants to be here when Justin wakes up so he’ll wait before he does anything else for the day. He couldn’t make himself move from the bed again if he tried. He doesn’t want to do anything but hold Justin. He lightly strokes his face and presses soft kisses to his cheek, nose, and forehead. It’s a testament to how deep of a sleep Justin is in since he doesn’t wake up while Brian acts more lesbianic than he ever has in his entire life.

 

He knows something is different between the two of them now, besides the obvious. He knows that somehow their roles to each other have altered. He doesn’t know why, he doesn’t know how, but they have. He plans on going out to get food after Justin gets up. He’ll use that opportunity to call Finn later and ask for more details on the changes that will occur in their relationship and what Justin will need from him besides blood. He knows things are going to change, he’s just unsure about how much.

 

Around 7:15, Justin starts to wake up. Brian puts his hand on the back of his neck and when Justin opens his eyes, Brian rests his forehead against his. They stare into each other’s eyes and rub noses, things Brian doesn’t admit to liking but right now he doesn’t care. He gives Justin a kiss and then two more. Justin raises his eyebrows in response.

 

“You’re friendly this morning. How long have you been up?”

 

“Less than an hour. Good morning.”

 

“Good morning,” Justin smiles. Thank god he’s smiling. It’s the first time he’s seen it since he found him in Nevada and he didn’t realize how much he needed to see it.

 

“You feeling okay?”

 

“I’m actually feeling pretty great. It will hit me soon but...I don’t know. I feel healthy again. Stronger. A lot stronger.”

 

Brian pauses for a minute and just stares at his partner, trying to ask the question that’s on his mind. But all Justin does is become bashful under the scrutiny and look away. Brian reaches over and strokes Justin’s cheek to get him to look at him again. When Justin’s eyes are looking in his direction once again, he asks what he needs to ask.

 

“You hungry?”

 

Justin pauses as if he has to think about what Brian is really asking, then shakes his head no. 

 

“Let me know when you are, okay? It isn’t a problem.”

 

“Brian-”

 

“I mean it. I don’t mind. I want to do this. I want to be the one who gives you what you need. I…I meant what I said. I really do love you. And I am so happy you decided to do this, even though you were against it. We’re going to okay. Stronger than we’ve ever been. We’ll get through this.

 

Justin nods and leans in to kiss him. He returns it with every bit of tenderness he has been feeling since he woke up. 

 

He’s never felt like this. Oh, he’s felt tenderness and love for Justin for a while. It has been immense and all-consuming but he could hide it with no problem. But now he wants to prove to Justin that he still wants him despite everything. Prove to him he wants him now more than ever. He wants to prove that he is worthy to be Justin’s partner and that he is worthy to give him everything he needed.

 

Brian is seriously about to get even more lesbianic and actually voice his thoughts and feelings even more than he already has, but he’s stopped by Justin rolling top of him and grinding his hard on against his own. He supposes the pouring of the heart can wait since, within seconds, he gets hard in response. He leans upwards to meet Justin for a kiss and Justin licks into his mouth hungrily as the kiss grows more and more intense. When he breaks the kiss for air, Justin travels down his body, planting kisses down his torso until he reaches his groin. He takes Brian into his mouth and takes him in all the way in one go. Brian gasps out and reaches down to run his fingers through Justin’s short hair as he receives one of the best blowjobs he’s ever had. He shoots his load into Justin’s mouth and pants from the exertion.

 

Justin slides back up his body and looks down at him with intent in his eyes. Deep down, Brian knows what’s coming. 

 

“I want to be inside of you. I want to make you feel good. Don’t hold anything back. I want to hear how good I make you feel. I want to taste you and then I want to fuck you. Let me do those things, Brian.”

 

Brian finds himself lost in Justin’s eyes. He must want to bottom today because he nods and rolls over without argument. He rests his head on the pillow and sticks his ass up in the air. Justin blows on his hole and it clenches in anticipation. Justin kisses his cheeks, lightly nips at the skin, and starts to tease his hole with his tongue. He licks his way in and Brian can’t help but muffle his moans into his pillow as he spreads his legs wider wanting _more_.

 

Justin pulls his face away from Brian. He rubs his hand against Brian’s back and soothes him.

 

“Did you get condoms and lube?”

 

Brian nods, “Yeah. In the bag by the desk.”

 

“I’ll go get them. Stay right there,” Justin tells him as he leans forward to kiss his shoulder and gets off the bed.

 

He stays in position as Justin fetches what they need. Brian feels him get back on the bed behind him and hears the cap pop off of the lube. When he feels Justin’s lubed finger circle his hole, he perks his ass up and rocks backwards on his knees to try to get his lover closer and Justin moans at the sight. He gives into Brian’s persuasion and thrusts the first finger in, only to add a second moments later. He taught Justin well since he finds Brian’s prostate in under a minute and has him groaning, whimpering, and eventually begging for Justin’s cock.

 

“Justin, please. I need it. Come on, stick it in me,” he moans out as Justin adds a third finger.

 

“Shhh...be patient,” Justin commands him as Brian tries to obey.

 

Justin stretches him a little more, enjoying the sight of Brian writhing and thrusting back on his fingers. Eventually he can’t deny himself or Brian anymore, so he pulls his fingers out to open the condom wrapper. He slips the condom on his dick and gets close to Brian’s waiting and willing form. He rubs his lower back and quietly asks him, “You good?” Brian lifts himself up on shaky arms and nods, then surprises Justin by flipping onto his back. He wraps his legs around Justin’s waist and gazes up at him with lust-blown pupils. 

 

“Wanna see you. Fuck me, Justin.”

 

Justin grabs Brian’s legs and puts them up onto his shoulders, then eases himself in. He bends down to kiss his lover as he slowly thrusts into his body. Brian puts his arms around Justin’s neck to deepen the kiss and they tease each other with their tongues as they move together with their thrusts. Justin has never seen Brian like this. He’s only topped him a handful of times and each time Brian had been shy and reserved. Oh, he fucking loved it. Justin could tell that much. But he knew Brian hated showing the vulnerability that came with bottoming and it was an honor that he only did it for Justin, even if it took a lot of hinting and persuasion on Justin’s part before he gave in.

 

But fuck, Brian was absolutely wanton right now. He wasn’t topping from the bottom like Justin had done to him so many times. No, Justin had the control here. But he was embracing the role that tended to go with bottoming and god it was hot. As Justin started to pound into his tight hole, Brian whimpered, groaned, bit his lip, met him thrust for thrust, and breathed out, “So good, Justin. Feels so good. Don’t stop. I love you, love you so much. Want it harder. Please don’t stop.” It’s like he wasn’t holding anything back at all.

 

When Brian shot his load all over his chest and he filled the condom, Justin realized he may have done something terribly wrong. And it was when Brian snuggled up to him and sweetly kissed his cheek and shoulder, he realized that he truly fucked up.

 

“No…Fuck!!” Justin panicked as he pushed Brian off his chest.

 

“Justin?”

 

“Don’t-just...I’m sorry, Brian. I’m really sorry.”

 

“What the hell are you queening out about? Come here.”

 

“No, I need to go. I need to be by myself and think…”

 

Justin grabs a pair of pants and a shirt from one of the bags. Colorado is supposed to be a beautiful state so maybe he could look around. But Burlington seems like there is a whole lot of nothing. So fuck sightseeing. he needed to get a cup of coffee and just think. Think about what he’s become. What he’ll always be. 

 

“Justin,” Brian says quietly from the bed, “You can’t leave the room. Not until sunset. Remember?”

 

Justin freezes. That should have been the first thing he remembered. He saw Daniel kill himself just by stepping out into the sun so that tidbit should have made a lasting impression.

 

“Fuck…” Justin sobs out. He runs into the bathroom, closes the door, drops to the floor, and tries not to cry.

 

“Sunshine? Sunshine, open the door,” Brian demands as he knocks.

 

“Please don’t come in here. I’m so sorry, Brian. I’m so sorry for what I just did to you,” Justin painfully tells him.

 

“What? What did you do? I don’t understand. Will you open the door?” Brian pleads.

 

Justin sighs and reaches up to turn the door knob. Brian comes in and sits down across from him.

 

“That...that wasn’t you out there. It was me,” Justin tries to admit.

 

“Justin, I don’t understand what you’re saying-”

 

“Brian, just...Just think about it for a minute. Think about the things you said. The things you did. That...that wasn’t you. I swear I didn’t mean to. I can do this thing now...compelling. Finn talked about it, remember? You didn’t want to do that out there and I made you.”

 

“What, you mean bottom? I was pretty fucking willing, Sunshine. I know I don’t do it that often but I was definitely into it.”

 

“You only think you were into it because I told you to let me fuck you and to not hold anything back. I should have kept myself in check. I told myself after I made you go to sleep last night that I wouldn’t do it again. It was so selfish and I didn’t care because I wanted to mark you and own you, show you that you’re mine,” Justin feels that part of himself coming out again. That primal, instinctual, fucking weird, and bloodthirsty side of him coming out. He shakes himself out of it and tries to continue.

 

“I don’t know what that even says about me but that’s how I felt. It was completely non-consensual on your part and non-human on mine. It was awful of me to go through with it. I am so sorry.”

 

Brian stares at him with an eyebrow raised. Justin is sort of pissed that he doesn’t fucking get it but then Brian starts to look angry so maybe he does. Justin braces himself for Brian’s anger as Brian begins to speak.

 

“Sorry for what? Giving me two mind blowing orgasms? Fucking my prostate dead on? I’m not sorry I let you fuck me. As far as I’m concerned, it can become a regular occurrence. I can’t believe you are trying to damper one of our top ten fucks.”

 

“...Brian, you only think it is. Believe me, if you had been yourself, you wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. It might have felt good but you don’t like being in that position, I know that.”

 

“Well, if you did compel me then maybe that’s a good thing. You told me not to hold anything back, right? If I really didn’t want it, I would have talked about how much I wanted it to be over with it as soon as you put your dick in me. Instead, I told you how good your cock felt pounding into me. I begged for you to go harder and faster. I let you take control and I fucking loved it. It was a nice change from the other times when I tried to hold it in.”

 

Brian crawls the two or so feet to reach Justin and kisses him. It’s a pretty obscene kiss but those are his favorite kind.

 

“Brian…” Justin groans as Brian moves the kisses to his neck.

 

“Hmmm…”

 

“Something’s still different.”

 

“What?”

 

“You. The way you were this morning. It...It isn’t like you to be so...sweet and open. The way you are now even isn’t quite right. You would never be okay with this happening and you would never offer to bottom on a regular occurrence. You would never-”

 

Brian glares at him and interrupts him.

 

“Maybe I’m just really fucking grateful my partner is alive. Like you, I’ve had a stressful couple of days. Sorry if that resulted in me being open to new things and expressing myself.”

 

“Yeah, but even yesterday you were more you. Today you seem off somehow. Like this morning when you were stroking my face and giving me eskimo kisses.”

 

“Christ, can’t I be affectionate once in a while?” Brian asks, a bit annoyed and embarrassed.

 

Justin looks at him and realizes he’s not going to get anywhere with him right now. Brian did have an awfully rough couple of days. Maybe he really is just grateful that Justin’s alive and that’s why he was so sweet and caring this morning. Maybe when Justin made love to him, he just...enhanced...Brian’s experience due to him being in such a good mood anyway.

 

He was going to find out though. One thing was on his mind. His gut was telling him something.

 

“Hey, can you get some breakfast? I’m starving.”

 

“Alright. I’ll go to the diner down the street to order a few things and you can drink from me in a little bit,” Brian informs him unflinchingly as he gets up off the bathroom floor but then turns around.

 

“Stay in the bathroom. You should be fine on the bed if I open the door but I don’t want any light hitting you. So just stay there until I’m out the door. I’ll call you when I’m outside so you can come back in here when I come back in.”

 

Justin lets out a sigh. This is even more debilitating than he thought it was going to be. 

 

Brian gets dressed and makes sure Justin goes back into the bathroom. Then he’s out the door and on his way to get breakfast.

 

Justin knows that he may be coming off as ridiculous. Most people would want their boyfriend to be more affectionate and more open to switching up positions. But he has to know the reasoning behind it so Justin comes back out into the room and gets his temporary cell phone out to call Finn. It rings a few times but the man ends up answering.

 

“This better be important. You are already causing me to have more stress than I need and now you decide to interrupt my beauty rest?”

 

“I’m sorry if I woke you up. I just really need to clear some things up.”

 

Finn yawns and says, “Well, I did offer to be your guiding light. What’s going on?”

 

“There’s something going on with Brian.”

 

“Shit. Did you kill him?”

 

“What? No!”

 

“…Did somebody else kill him? It’s a good thing you fed him your blood last night if you want the man to stick around but I don’t see how two newborn vamps traveling the country is going to end well, especially without any supervision or at least a willing human you are both close to. You’ll have to get him to feed if he wants to turn, just the same as you did. But it will have to be from a stranger and he might be less inclined to stop-“

 

“Finn! He’s not dead and he’s not a vampire.”

 

“Oh. Then why are you even calling?”

 

This might be why Brian didn’t seem to like Finn much. They were both too blasé and too the point. Justin can see where they might clash.

 

“Could my blood or me feeding from him have any kind of…emotional or psychological effects on him?”

 

“If you attack him or force him to do something it probably won’t go over well. But I don’t think you’ve done that. You need to be more specific.”

 

“He’s acting…different. More open. More…I don’t want to say submissive but that aspect is there too. More like he wants to please me. He has offered me his blood multiple times this morning and has been overly affectionate. He…bottomed. Enthusiastically. And let me take control. If you knew him, you wouldn’t believe me right now. I’m pretty sure I compelled him to let me top him. But now he seems like he wants to do it more often. There’s something off with him right now. I just need to be sure I’m not forcing him to be this way. 

 

“I told you about bonds last night. I don’t think they are quite as strong as the witches claim that they are but the evidence has merit. You turned and are now more possessive and protective. Vampires tend to be very dominant and territorial. Vampire couples can be very tumultuous due to that. That’s why it’s better when there’s several years in between a couple when it comes to who was turned first, at least in the cases when they didn’t know each other before their new life. In your case, your partner is human. It doesn’t matter if he was the protector and the more dominant one before. You both have a strong connection and your turning has caused him to change. Not too much. But the role dynamics will alter. You both will be protective of each other and love each other deeply but will show that in different ways. For him, he will submit to you more, whether he realizes it or not, and that includes in the bedroom. He will do that whether he is compelled or not. It will just come naturally to him now when it comes to his relationship with you. The bond won’t interfere with how he acts with anyone else. That will go on as continued. But with you, he will want to make you happy and will want to provide for you. He won’t want you feeding off of anyone but him unless it’s necessary or consensually agreed upon. I…I had a human partner whom I loved deeply. Believe me when I tell you that she hated it whenever I decided to feed on someone else to give her a break. She was a pistol, even when she bonded to me and started to fit into that role. She was never afraid to call me out on anything and the same went vice versa. Anyway…”

 

Finn clears his throat and goes on.

 

“You in return will protect him with your life and make your claim known, especially to those you deem as a threat. It could be to another vampire or to an old woman who yells a derogatory word to him on the street. It could be a man that flirts with him or it could even be a friend. You aren’t human anymore so it will be you who changes more. While there are things you might do that he will understand when most humans wouldn’t, there will also be times where he will find you quite odd or frightening, enraging, or hell, even annoying. You will probably never want to let him go. I know that because you instinctually fed him your blood right after you fed from him for the first time, even though you didn’t know the result of what would happen. That strengthens the bond and it cements you more into the roles that you are meant to be in now.”

 

“This is so weird, Jesus Christ,” Justin mutters, then takes a breath.

 

“Okay. So what if I never feed him my blood again?” Do we sort of go back to normal after that? Or as normal as we can become?”

 

“The dynamics will stay altered a little bit, especially since you fed him your blood already. You are a vampire, after all, and he is your human partner. It won’t be as strong though. Then again, you won’t be able to track him as easily if he is in trouble. If he gets into some sort of accident and dies, he won’t wake up since he won’t have your blood in his system. If you regularly exchange blood, his health will boost up and his aging will slow down by several years. He may look and act sixty when he is eighty-five. His chances of having any health problems, from cancer to a cold, will go down significantly. But that is only if you feed him your blood on a regular basis. Those perks come with a bit of a role change.”

 

Justin tries to sort through the overload of information. He shouldn’t care about those things. It wasn’t a possibility before and Brian was fine. But the mere thought of not giving Brian his blood made him feel sick. Shouldn’t it be the opposite? But part of him balked at not having the protection that this practice would offer. He had to protect Brian at all costs and not giving him the health and security that his blood would offer would be negligent of him. So that new side, the side that scared Justin because it knew too many things that Justin wasn’t even privy to yet, won out.

 

“It’ll take me a while to get over the weirdness of sticking my bloody wrist up to his mouth. Exchanging blood or any bodily fluids is sort of a big no in the gay community.”

 

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about condoms. You couldn’t get him pregnant, even if he was a woman. You can’t contract or pass on any diseases anyway.” 

 

That…that appealed to Justin a lot more than he’d like to admit. He could claim him even more that way. He could make sure that Brian carries his scent and everyone knows that Brian is _his_.

 

Finn continues speaking so Justin has to force himself to snap out of it.

 

“You’re free to do whatever you wish when it comes to that, of course. Can I get off the phone now? Call back at a more decent time. I tend to sleep during the day when I’m not working.”

 

“Fine. Sorry I-”

 

“Guess I’ll have to be up a little longer since your boyfriend is calling. Why can’t you just wait until you’re both in the same room and call me then?”

 

Justin hears the line click. As he wonders why Brian would need to call him, he sits down and waits for his partner to come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read and review to let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin and Brian decide to experiment with the feelings brought on by their bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update took so long. This chapter is pure Dominant/submissive smut, guys. I didn't mean for it to happen but it did. The next chapter should be up by Wednesday at the latest. It will actually be focused on the plot rather than sex (but there will be plenty more of that in the story.)

Justin is flipping through television channels when he hears Brian’s footsteps outside their motel room door. He knows it’s him. He can sense him and smell him, even with the barrier that the door provides them. His phone expectedly rings and he picks it up to hear Brian’s voice on the other end of the line.

 

“Hey, I’m outside.”

 

“I know.”

 

“So go in the bathroom.”

 

Justin lets out a sigh and gets up to go in the dark and windowless room until Brian can get in and shut the door. 

 

“Come on out, Sunshine! I come bearing food.”

 

Justin walks back out and sees the food Brian bought from the diner down the street. Brian gives him a small smile and hands him a container. 

 

“Eat up. You know, you’re sort of lucky that you can eat this with no consequence. Not that you couldn’t before with that fucking metabolism you have. I’ll have to live at the gym for at least a week when we get back due to putting all of this shit in my body.”

 

“I’m sure you’ll be in top shape in no time,” Justin comments as he sits down on the edge of the bed and opens the food container.

 

He expects Brian to sit over at the desk but he doesn’t. Instead he sits on the bed next to Justin. Their shoulders brush due to Brian’s close proximity. Finn’s explanation to what was probably going on with them comes to the front of Justin’s mind. How can he go about bringing up something like that? How can he tell Brian that Finn basically said that he would be submissive to some extent from now on, at least when it came to Justin. Brian would be infuriated. He’s Brian Fucking Kinney. He’s a stallion. The stud of Liberty Avenue. He doesn’t bottom. He may have enjoyed it with Justin. He certainly loved it this morning. But it wasn’t in his nature to submit. It wasn’t that the thought of it didn’t turn him on. God, having Brian Kinney whimpering for his cock would have turned him on even before this shit storm happened. But now? Something deep inside of him tried to convince him that this was how it was supposed to be. Brian was his. This was his role and it was for the best. Brian needed to be taken care of. He needed to have at least some burdens lifted from his shoulders, especially in the predicament that they were both in now. And, while he loved Brian immensely, he knew that the way Brian tended to rebel and fly off the handle could get him hurt. The way Brian initially acted with Finn would have gotten him killed if it had been Zachariah or one of his cronies. On top of that, this sort of behavior would undermine Justin’s authority over him.That couldn’t happen for their mutual safety. It was for the best that Brian gracefully enter his role so that Justin could provide protection, love, discipline, and structure.

 

Logically, Justin knew his thoughts were absolutely insane and the human part of him wanted to laugh and freak the fuck out over such possessive and dominant thoughts over Brian Kinney, of all people. He knows he shouldn’t want all these things this badly but he can’t help it. It’s what he needs and he knows that Brian is going to need him to take on his role as well. He just doesn’t know how to bring it up. If he can make sure that Brian is at least somewhat aware of what is going on when it comes to their relationship, he would feel a lot more at ease about moving forward with this new dynamic. Finn did say that Brian was calling him near the end of their own conversation. Maybe Brian was onto what was happening more than he let on.

 

“Brian?” 

 

“Hmmm?” Brian acknowledges, looking to his left to meet Justin’s eyes.

 

“I called Finn to clarify a few things that have been going on. Right before we got off the phone, he told me you were calling him. What did you need to talk to him about?”

 

Brian shrugs, looks down, and blushes a little. Justin probably wouldn’t have caught it if he were still human, but he can smell the subtle movement of blood beneath his cheeks and hear his heartbeat quicken slightly as a vampire. 

 

“Hey, come on. Tell me what your conversation was about and I’ll tell you what I discussed with him,” Justin coaxes him, putting an arm around him in the process.

 

Brian lets out a sigh.

 

“Okay look. I wasn’t freaking out over what you said after you fucked me. I still don’t think you compelled me or whatever,” Brian dismisses with the wave of a hand, “I know when I want and crave something and getting fucked hit the spot. I was thinking about calling him before you even woke up.”

 

“If it wasn’t about me possibly compelling you, then what was it?” 

 

“I don’t know. I can’t explain it. It’s weird.”

 

“Brian, I was forced to turn into a creature of the night and saw Paris Hilton’s severed head in the freezer. Weird is going to be a regular thing now.”

 

Brian flinches at the terror that has filled the last couple of days but answers his question.

 

“Okay. I called partly because I wanted to know how to take care of you. I wanted to make sure my blood was enough for you. I asked him what was roughly the maximum amount I could safely give you a day. He said it depended on you and if you fed me your blood or not but if you did I could give you a pint over the course of a day every day as long as it was spread out. I wouldn’t have to worry about it affecting my energy too much. He also said you might end up needing more the first couple of months to feel truly satisfied. I could give you more than a pint but it would deplete my energy a bit and you would have to watch how far you went.”

 

Justin shakes his head, “I won’t put you in jeopardy like that. I’ll...I’ll find someone else if it comes down to it.”

 

“You will not!”

 

Brian’s expression changes from one of hesitance to absolute anger and some other emotion Justin can’t quite pinpoint at the moment.

 

“If you are worried about me hurting someone then...well, I’m worried about that too. But I can still drink from you and find someone else so I can have just enough to feel satisfied if not having enough blood affects me too much. Ideally, I want to be able to handle the minimum so hopefully it doesn’t come down to that.”

 

“Justin, I said I would do it. I _want_ to. You don’t need anyone else to feed from,” Brian tells him slowly, as if he’s trying to make Justin understand something.

 

And that’s when he does understand. He figures out that the unknown emotion hidden inside Brian’s anger is jealousy. He can see it flaring up in his eyes and it seems as though even the thought of Justin feeding on someone else causes him grief. That’s so fucking weird.

 

“Brian, what are you feeling right now?”

 

Brian squints in suspicion, “What do you mean? I’m fine.”

 

“Right. But when I say that I might have to feed from someone else, how does that affect you? Why does it make you so angry?”

 

“What are you, my fucking therapist?”

 

“Come on. Just answer the question.”

 

Brian huffs out a humorless laugh and looks down at his feet.

 

“You know how it _makes me feel_ , Justin. You know I can’t stand the idea of you sucking on someone else’s wrist or neck or thigh or wherever else is a good place to latch onto. I know Finn discussed it with you when you called him.”

 

Justin knows he has to tread very carefully right now. If Finn told Brian about that particular quirk Brian would take on, then he might be onto more than Justin initially thought.

 

“So Finn told you about our conversation? What else did he say?”

 

Brian just glares at him but Justin isn’t going to back down.

 

“You said that figuring out how much blood you could give me was only part of the reason why you called. What’s another reason?”

 

Brian starts to get up to go god knows where but Justin firmly takes his wrist. He immediately feels fucking horrible when Brian finches and bites his lip in pain.

 

“Shit. Did I hurt you? Fuck, I’m so sorry,” Justin apologizes as he quickly lets go of his wrist.

 

Brian shakes his head, “It didn’t hurt that bad. It just took me by surprise. Your grip is a lot stronger than it was before.. Stronger than mine.”

 

“I know. I keep forgetting. I know I need to be gentle with you. I’m sorry.”

 

“Stop apologizing...please.”

 

Brian sits back down on the bed and stares at the wall. Justin doesn’t know what to do. He knows the subject needs to be addressed but Brian seems to be avoiding the issue. Justin can’t blame him. It’s not like he hasn’t been fighting himself on these dominant and possessive feelings he’s been having. Brian may be internally fighting his new submissive role as well, if he’s even aware of it at all. Fuck it, he’s just going to go for it. They’ve come this far.

 

“We need to talk everything out. I need to know what’s going on with you as much as you need to know what’s going on with me. We need to establish boundaries and rules when it comes to all of this. We’ve overcome a lot in the last couple of days and we’re still together. You still want to make this work, right?”

 

Brian turns his head quickly to stare at him.

 

“Of course I do. I told you that this morning.”

 

“Then I need to know what’s going on in your head. I need to make sure I don’t cross any boundaries and I don’t act upon things that just aren’t okay with you. I’m different now. And it isn’t just the strength and the bloodlust. I am having these...cravings when it comes to you. At first I thought it just came with the change and it only affected who I was. But Finn told me that since we’re a couple, and apparently a very well matched one, we would both change. Our relationship dynamic would change. Have you sensed something like that?”

 

Brian hesitates and for a few seconds Justin thinks that Brian is not going to answer. But then he surprisingly takes a deep breath and nods.

 

“I talked to Finn about it. I woke up feeling differently this morning. I couldn’t get enough of you. I’m sure part of it was because I thought you were going to off yourself on me yesterday. I’m grateful and relieved that you didn’t. But I felt differently towards you. I didn’t know how to explain it. I didn’t want you less. I wanted you more, if anything. But I felt like it was...I don’t know, right, when you took control. It was when that happened that I knew what I was wanting from you this morning but I couldn’t put a finger on it until then.”

 

“But now you can?”

 

“Fuck, I don’t know. It’s not like me to even consider the thoughts I’ve been having all morning. I even keep telling myself that it’s just temporary and maybe I’m just open to changing things up a bit since this morning was pretty much the best fuck of my life. You seemed freaked out over how I was acting but I couldn’t help it. I decided to call Finn when I was out to see if there was anything I needed to know at all and I found out you called him. He told me it would be harder for you to fully compel me if we were bonded and that you could only truly make me do something against my will if you were consciously aware that you were compelling me and concentrated really hard on the compulsion or genuinely thought that the command helped my overall well-being. Due to that and the fact you fed me your blood last night and it had time to take effect, I don’t think you compelled me to bottom for you, at least not to the point where I couldn’t back out. He glossed over everything and said that he went more into detail with you since you had called first. I got the gist even though I don’t get how you turning can change what I want so fucking drastically.”

 

“So he told you about bonds?”

 

Brian nods, “Yeah, he told me. I would say it sounds like a bunch of shit but I also thought vampires were fake until the other night.”

 

“Brian, we don’t have to change anything-”

 

“Yes, we do. Feeding is something you need now and that’s not going to change any time soon.”

 

“I meant when it comes to other ways we want to act around each other.”

 

Brian stays silent and looks at the wall again. What comes out of his mouth next is something that Justin least expects.

 

“But we would be happier if we acted on it. If we didn’t just ignore it.”

 

“Brian, what are you saying?”

 

Brian lets out an aggravated sound.

 

“Okay, look. I’m not going to go to fucking Meat Hook with you and I’m not going to be your bottom boy 24/7. Even if you start topping me the majority of the time, I’m not at the point where I want people to know about it yet so no fucking me in the back room. Fuck, that could even change considering Finn said the bond and dynamic only becomes stronger and more cemented the more we feed from each other. And I don't know why I even want to feed from you but I do. Why do I fucking want that?”

 

Brian takes a few breaths and continues.

 

“Anyway, I don't see wanting anyone to know that anything has changed in our relationship yet but I didn’t predict anything else that has happened so far either. You were so hot earlier. You always are when we have sex. It’s always felt right whenever we fucked but I felt so much when you were inside of me. It felt like you were owning me and taking control...taking care of me. It never felt more right. Fuck, why am I saying this shit?”

 

Brian gets up and starts to pace and run his fingers through his hair. Justin knows he is stressing out about everything he’s been feeling, even if he wants it, but he doesn’t know what to say to help him. He feels that side, that dark and new side to him, get overly protective and worried over his lover. Justin’s initial reaction is to keep it on a leash and under the surface but it’s clawing at him and is becoming more and more insistent. So Justin loosens the leash a little and lets those feelings rule what he needs to say to placate Brian and who he’s inevitably becoming.

 

“It felt right to me too. You were so incredible, letting go like that and letting me give you what you need. It's okay that you need it, Brian. And it's okay that I need this too.I loved how you opened up for me, both emotionally and physically. Your hole was so tight and you were so enthusiastic, even when I was pounding into you harder than I should have since you don’t have a lot of experience as a bottom. You were so good for me.”

 

Brian stops pacing and stares at Justin with wide eyes, pupils starting to fill with lust. Justin gets up to stand in front of Brian then smooths his hair back and gently strokes his face. Brian tilts his head to get closer to the touch and closes his eyes. His breathing hitches when Justin presses light kisses to his jaw and cheek. He hears Brian’s heart thumping and smells his blood pumping. When Justin reaches down to lightly rub Brian’s crotch, he feels how hard he’s becoming. He knows then that he has to take care of him and make him feel good, show Brian what a good partner he is. Even though he makes sure he doesn’t concentrate on compelling Brian into doing something he doesn’t want to do, he makes his commands clearly and authoritatively.

 

“We have a day to waste in here. This dynamic is supposed to affect multiple facets of our lives but sex has always been our thing. Let’s experiment with this and see what we like.”

 

Brian nods, bends down to kiss him, and whispers, “Okay.”

 

Justin nods in return then soothes Brian by stroking his face, getting him ready for what’s to come.

 

“I want you to take off all of your clothes and lie down on top of the bed.”

 

Brian nods then turns his head to kiss Justin’s palm. He removes every article of clothing and lowers himself to the bed.

 

“Close your eyes,” Justin commands. 

 

Brian does what he’s told. For a few minutes, Justin just watches him. He’s so beautiful and he’s _his_. He's so fucking lucky to have this man submit to him and let him dominate him like this. And even though Justin knows these feelings are being mostly ruled by the bond, the human side of him is starting to accept that this is how things are meant to be now. Brian has had to take control his whole life. He has never had anyone he felt at ease enough with to care for him for more than a night where he drank too much and needed a way home. This horrible nightmare may in some way be a blessing if it gets Brian to open up and be cared for.

 

Justin runs a finger along Brian’s chest, lets it circle a nipple, and and trace his abs. He lets his hand wander lower and traces the veins of his cock. Brian grows harder and gasps at the sensation that Justin’s light touches are giving him.

 

“Tell me how that feels, Brian.”

 

“Good. So fucking good. Justin, please just-”

 

“You need to be patient. I want you to feel every sensation.”

 

“Damn it, stop playing games! Just fuck me.”

 

“I said no. Not yet. The longer you keep this up, the longer you are going to have to wait.”

 

Brian lifts his head up and glares at him. Justin raises an eyebrow and stays silent, letting him know that he’s serious. Brian keeps up the glare for a few more seconds before letting his head fall back onto the bed.

 

“Good boy.”

 

“Justin, I swear to god-”

 

But Brian breaks off when Justin puts a hand around his cock and slowly starts to stroke it. Brian starts to lift his hips off the bed, trying to create more friction, but Justin stops and pins his hips to the bed.

 

“I want you to relax, Brian. You’ve had a tough couple of days. So don’t move until I tell you to.”

 

Brian stays still and Justin starts stroking him again. He keeps doing it until Brian lets out a moan and immediately stops.

 

“Justin…”

 

“I don’t want you coming until I tell you to. Now lift your knees up and spread your legs.”

 

Brian does it without a second thought and Justin strangely feels proud about that. Justin reaches over and gets two pillows to prop Brian’s hips up. Although Brian was very accommodating when it came to his last request, Justin knows he may be treading a thin line with his next one. 

 

“Reach down so you can spread yourself open. I want you to keep yourself spread until you come.”

 

Brian’s face turns red. He turns his head, tightly holds his eyes shut, and forces breaths out through his nose. That’s when Justin starts to feel bad. If thinking about being in that particular position causes Brian so much embarrassment then he’ll take it back, no matter how much he wants to see his lover holding himself open to take whatever Justin has to give him.

 

Justin goes to the side of the bed where Brian’s head is turned and squats down to pet his hair.

 

“Brian,” Justin says gently, “You are allowed to say no. If you are uncomfortable with anything or it makes you feel too vulnerable, just tell me.”

 

Brian opens his eyes and they are cold and determined.

 

“It’s just a fucking position. Why would it even bother me?”

 

“If it does, it does. I know this is all strange for you. You’ve always been a top. It may not be anything kinky or extreme, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you don’t feel forced into anything.”

 

Brian sighs and lightly traces one of Justin’s hands.

 

“I’m being hypocritical. I loved seeing you do that for me. It made sliding my fingers and our toys and my cock in and out of your hole even hotter. But...I don’t know. It feels like I’m all in to become a bottom if I fucking hold myself open for you.”

 

“Do you want to stop experimenting with this then? Try to go back to how it was and just keep feeding?”

 

Brian shakes his head, “No. You don’t know how much I want your cock in me right now. I’m so turned on by this. Even though I went all weird when you asked me to spread myself, I about came on the spot when you said it but remembered I couldn’t because you told me not to. Then I sort of internally freaked out about how turned on I am by this and actually wanting to obey you. I would be laughing about it if it wasn’t so strange.”

 

Justin stays silent as Brian works through his conflicting thoughts. Brian must come to a decision because without a word he closes his eyes, bends a little, reaches down underneath his knees, and spreads his cheeks to expose his hole. It makes Justin so happy that Brian is doing it for him.

 

“You need a safeword before we continue. I want you to use it if you are uncomfortable with something or start to panic. What’s a word that you can use that you wouldn’t use during sex?”

 

“Muncher.”

 

Justin snorts at that, “Odd choice, but alright. Use it if you need to, Brian. I mean it.”

 

Justin kisses Brian’s forehead then walks back over to look at Brian from the foot of the bed. God, he’s gorgeous. Justin wants to take him right there. How could he not? His cock was hard and perfect, slowly leaking precum. His hole was twitching, begging to be fucked, and still a little relaxed from the nice pounding it got this morning. His breaths were uneven and filled with lust. His chest was starting to get shiny from Justin’s prolonged ministrations. He was perfect.

 

Justin got on his knees and pulled Brian and the pillows closer to the edge of the bed. Leaning forward, he licked a long stripe from Brian’s balls to his hole and teased the skin around it.

 

“Oh fuck,” Brian moaned out, “two rimjobs in one day?”

 

“Aren’t you a lucky boy?” Justin murmured then licked his way in.

 

Brian’s moans increased as Justin darted his tongue in and out of his hole. He was going to keep this up for a while. Brian was going crazy for it.

 

Of course he had to stop six minutes in when Brian let go of his cheeks.

 

Justin pinches his inner thigh and Brian lets out a yelp.

 

“What did I tell you?” Justin asks him calmly as he makes the movements to stand back up.

 

Brian quickly reaches back down to spread himself even farther than before.

 

“Good. Remember to do what I tell you next time,” Justin reminds him as gets back between Brian’s legs, “I wouldn’t want to punish you. But I will if it’s needed.”

 

Justin looks up to gage Brian’s reaction. Immediately he can tell that Brian gets a thrill out of the words, which is good when it comes to sex. He might not like it if Justin actually has to punish him though. Not that Justin gets off at the thought of hurting Brian either, but it might need to be done if the man does something reckless.

 

“How should I punish you if you do that again?” Justin asks after he spits on Brian’s hole.

 

“Send me to bed without supper-oh _fuck_.”

 

Justin rams his pointer finger into Brian’s hole and keeps it in place.

 

“Now do you think that’s a proper punishment?”

 

Brian shakes his head.

 

“What would be a better punishment?”

 

“I don’t know. Maybe spanking me,” Brian softly says.

 

“Then that’s what will happen. Does that turn you on, Brian?” Justin asks, eyes still on Brian.

 

Brian hesitates with his answer so Justin coaxes him by slowly working his finger in and out of him.

 

“Yeah,” Brian says hoarsely, “It does.”

 

“Good. Because I still want you to be turned on when we have sex and I won’t spank you hard enough to hurt you, even if you disobey me and are still uncomfortable with me being in control. The only time a punishment might hurt is if you put your life or well-being at risk due to arrogance or stupidity. Do you understand?”

 

“Yeah, I get it.”

 

“Good.”

 

Neither of them speak for a few minutes as Justin adds another finger and thrusts them in and out of Brian’s hole. He adds a third once Brian starts to get noisier and Justin starts to move them faster when he’s stretched enough.

 

“I can’t wait to get you back to the loft. I want to work that blue dildo in and out of you. I know it’s big. I haven’t even worked up the nerve to use it. We would use different toys to get you warmed up first. But you bought it for whatever unknown reason. Probably so Michael could find it and freak out if he snooped. So it’s time that you try it out. I wouldn’t fuck you hard with it but you’d feel it long after you come. We’re definitely using the butt plugs. You can put one in and keep yourself plugged up for me so I can just bend you over and stick my cock in. Would you like that, Brian?”

 

“Justin, goddd. Please fuck me. I need to come. Fuck…” Brian moans and gasps, trying to move his body further down on Justin’s fingers.

 

“Turn over. Get on your knees. You can use your hands but as soon as you are on your knees I want you to spread yourself again. No touching your cock. I want you to come on my cock alone.”

 

Brian does what he’s told without question. He lets his left cheek rest on the bed and perks his ass out then reaches out to display his hole once more.

 

“You look so hot, Brian. You are so incredible,” Justin tells him as he lubes up Brian’s hole and puts a condom on.

 

Justin doesn’t forget what Finn said about not needing condoms. He wants to fuck Brian without one and watch his come leak out so much. But they should wait until they talk about it first. He doesn’t want to put Brian on the spot when he’s this turned on and vulnerable. And, call Justin sentimental, but he wants to wait to take that step back at the loft, a place they are both familiar and comfortable with. He wants the first time to be slow and sweet, not kinky and commanding like the past forty-five minutes have been.

 

“Justin. Fuck me. Fuck me hard. Watch your cock slide in and out of me,” Brian grunts out.

 

Justin eases himself in. He starts out slow at first. He just loves looking at Brian’s hole swallowing his cock so eagerly. He lets that go on for a good ten minutes before he works up the punishing rhythm that Brian needs. He fucks him so hard that the whole bed shakes and the headboard slams against the wall. Brian cries out with every thrust and Justin has never heard him so loud and desperate before. He’s thrusting his hips back as hard as he can, which is quite a feat considering he’s still holding himself open for Justin. The sounds of balls slapping flesh fill the room and Brian is practically incoherent with need. Justin knows his partner is close and it’s probably getting harder and harder for him to hold back so Justin says the magic words.

 

“Come for me, Brian.”

 

Within seconds, Brian shoots his load all over the bed and Justin comes not a minute after. As soon as Justin cries out his own release, he collapses onto his lover and Brian’s knees go weak and straighten out on the bed. Justin can immediately tell that Brian is physically tired and emotionally raw after what just occurred. He gently brings his arms around Brian’s middle and turns them to the side so that he’s spooning him. Brian turns to face him and looks a little embarrassed so Justin spreads out inviting arms. Brian eases himself into them and lays his head on Justin’s chest. Justin rests his chin on top of Brian’s head and soothes the shaking man by rubbing his back and murmuring how wonderful he just was into his ear. 

 

After the cloud of lust and need dies down, Justin starts to get a better hold of himself. He looks back on what just happened and is shocked over what came out of his mouth. He’s almost embarrassed that he had Brian do all of that. Brian probably thought he had some fucked up fantasies.

 

But if Brian did think that, he wasn’t showing it. He was still coming down from the euphoria and the submissive state of mind he was in throughout their coupling. He hasn’t spoken yet but he’s clinging to Justin with every bit of strength that he has and is shivering due to the adrenalin leaving his body.

 

Wondering how Brian is feeling, he gently puts his hands on both sides of his face to get him to look up.

 

When Justin gets Brian to meet his eyes, he sees confusion, relief, fear, and love. He looks overwhelmed and seems to need some sort of encouragement and comfort.

 

“Thank you, Brian. Thank you for being here. Thank you for trusting me to take care of you. I love you so much.”

 

Brian snorts and buries his face back in Justin’s chest.

 

“Are you alright? Did anything happen that you don’t want to happen again?”

 

Brian shakes his head.

 

“No,” he mumbles, his answer muffled a little by Justin’s chest, “I loved all of it.”

 

“Then what is it?”

 

“I don’t know. I just feel overwhelmed, I guess.”

 

Justin makes a mental note to find out more information about the after effects of this sort of thing. He doesn’t think he can bring himself to ask Finn again unless he can’t find the answer elsewhere. But he needs to study up on Dominant and Submissive relationships. He’s heard that subs tend to get overwhelmed sometimes after particularly intense sex so he’ll need to figure out the best way to go about caring for Brian afterwards.

 

“Tell me what I can do. I can clean you off and give you a massage.”

 

But Brian shakes his head, “Can you just...hold me for a while? If you tell anyone I asked you to do that I will deny it and strip you of your vocal chords but that’s what I want.”

 

Justin smiles and bites back a chuckle, “Yeah, Brian. I can hold you for a while.”

 

They still had a lot of shit to figure out. They most likely had a gang of bloodthirsty vampires on their trail. He still had to figure out how to handle being a bloodthirsty vampire himself. He and Brian had to figure out this bond thing and they needed to get back to Pittsburgh. They have shit to do today. The have to get on the road at sundown and Justin will need to feed from Brian in the next couple of hours. But besides that, they were free to just be with each other. They were allowed to have a lazy day, especially since Justin couldn’t leave the room. He would still be on his guard considering what has happened. He needed to protect Brian, after all. But for the first time since Zachariah kidnapped him and snapped his neck, Justin actually feels close to being a little content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and reviewing! Next chapter will be up very soon!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brian calls someone from back home and hears a disturbing news announcement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little less sex in this chapter but it still has a fair amount. Hope you enjoy this installment!

They spent the next two hours connected to each other. Some of the time they were just holding each other. Limbs tangled, mouths kissing every bit of skin they could reach. And of course they were fucking. Brian hadn’t come since before Gus came over on Monday. That made it four fucking days without a tight ass to fuck or even a quick jerk off in the shower. 

 

You’d think going that long would have made him want to fuck Justin repeatedly after his partner turned and things settled down a little. But that hadn’t been the case. He woke up wanting Justin. He would have taken him in any way he could have him and Justin had wanted to fuck him. It would have been fine regardless. He realized how much he needed his Sunshine in the last few days and if it made Justin happy to top him, then he would have done it even if there weren’t any bond to speak of. 

 

He didn’t realize how much he fucking loved what was going to happen until Justin started fingering him.

 

God, he loved it. He felt so in love and taken care of and not once did he feel uncomfortable or nervous or overexposed emotionally or physically by the first fuck this morning. As soon as they both came he knew he would need to have more and not just one more go. He wanted to feel like that on a regular basis. That should have sent a warning signs to his brain but he had felt too euphoric to care too much.

 

Then Justin had freaked the fuck out over it and Brian had almost felt self-conscious over enjoying it so much. Even though he sensed that something was possibly a little off too, it didn’t worry him as much as it worried Justin. He didn’t even worry about it too much when he called Finn. That had mainly been for questions about Justin’s new diet but he brought up Justin flipping out. That had been an awkward confession. He had to force out the words that he bottomed for Justin and he enjoyed it. A lot. Finn was unimpressed then had more or less told him that he would be enjoying it a _lot_ more often and that Justin would become dominant over him in multiple ways. 

 

He fought it for a few minutes. Denied that it would happen. But he couldn’t deny the thrill and the lust he felt just thinking about Justin fucking him into the mattress and making him beg for more.

 

So fucking weird.

 

Their session, for lack of a better word, had been…intense. Really intense. Brian had been confused as to whether or not he actually wanted it. He had been embarrassed when he realized that he really really did. But then, after he let himself just accept it, he let go. He didn’t hold anything back and the rest of the experience had been cathartic. He had been overwhelmed and involuntarily shaking. He knows Justin would never do it, but if he had just treated it like a fuck and got up to do his own thing after, he doesn’t know if he would have been able to handle that and he’s always been able to detach himself after sex with no problem, even with Justin when he felt like he needed to distance himself. But he had been clingy as fuck as soon as Justin opened his arms and invited him to lay his head on his chest. He had been emotional and confused but Justin had held him through it and eventually he was able to snooze for a half hour and settle down. When he woke up Justin was in the same position: arms around him with his chin resting on top of his head.

 

Even though Brian accepted that this was going to be a regular thing, it didn’t make it any less odd for him. He knew they would have to talk more. For one, Brian wasn’t into whips or chains or leather assless chaps. He went to the leather ball in a leather jacket so that should indicate that he wasn’t interested in all of the theatrics of the BDSM scene. 

 

“Brian?”

 

Brian’s interrupted from his thoughts by Justin’s voice. He looks up at him and Justin runs his fingers through his hair. It feels good but it doesn’t distract him from the possibilities running through his mind.

 

“You okay?”

 

Brian nods and lifts his head up to kiss Justin’s lips.

 

“Talk to me.”

 

Fuck it. He just held his ass cheeks open so Justin could watch his cock sink inside his body so he should be able to bring anything up with him by now.

 

“I’m okay with this…thing we have going on. It’s fine…Okay, it’s more than fine. I’m open to trying more and pushing the boundaries. But I don’t think I will ever be turned on by leather daddy shit and whips and chains. Blindfolds and tying my hands to the headboard are one thing. We did that to each other before all this happened on occasion. But I don’t want to do scene shit. I tried it once or twice when I was young out of curiosity and it just came off as weird. So no whips or chains or collars or me calling you master or sir. I won’t do it.”

 

Justin raises and eyebrow and smirks.

 

“I wasn’t going to ask you to do any of that stuff, Brian. Honestly, it would be weird if you called me anything other than what you call me now.”

 

“Yeah, it would. I’m twelve years older than you and you are fucking dominating me even though I’m the one who popped your cherry and taught you everything there is to know. What are people going to think even without all that BDSM stuff? I don’t need to degrade myself even more by acting like your sex slave.”

 

It may come off as harsh. He doesn’t mean for it to. He doesn’t understand his swinging feelings about all of this. But he needs Justin to know that he can’t change that much, even with everything that’s going on. This bond may have made him open up. It may have even somehow turned him into a bottom when it came to Justin. But it doesn’t mean that the persona he has built up for over a decade isn’t suffering a huge blow by this, even though no one in Pittsburgh knows about it yet.

 

“You aren’t my _sex slave_ , Brian. Jesus Christ, do you really think I could think of you like that? You’re my partner. You are the one that holds the power with this whole thing when it comes down to it. Everything I do to you can be vetoed by you at any moment you choose. I understand it’s fucked up that our relationship has been completely altered. I’m sorry that you are so affected by what Zachariah did to me. You told me you loved what we did earlier. But if you feel like you just aren’t meant for that, then that’s your decision. We’ll try to work it out. If it ever becomes too much for you and we can’t go back to the way it was then…I don’t know, you’re free to leave me. I would understand.”

 

That just pisses Brian off.

 

“Shut up! I don’t mean it like that. I’m not trying to come off as completely bipolar on the subject. I did fucking love what we did this morning. I loved that you pushed my limits and fucked me as hard as you did. I don’t know what I’m saying.”

 

“Brian…” Justin murmurs but Brian turns over and stares at the curtains.

 

“Hey.”

 

He feels Justin’s arms come around him and kisses against his neck. He lets out a sigh before giving in just a tiny bit by lacing his hand with one of Justin’s.

 

“I get that you’re confused. I am too. We’ll figure out. We can even switch off sometimes when it comes to the bedroom. I think I can deal with that. I definitely want you to fuck me still.”

 

Brian gains a little hope with that statement, “So you’re okay with me topping some of the time?”

 

“Brian, I would mourn if this meant I couldn’t get fucked by you anymore. I may want to be dominate you and I may be more partial to top you most of the time in the future, but I can’t see myself ever not wanting your cock in me again.”

 

Brian huffs out a laugh then takes Justin by surprise by rolling on top of him.

 

Justin grins and brings him in for a kiss and keeps his face in his hands. 

 

“We’ll do what’s right for us. We’ll let each other know what we need. No embarrassment, no judgment, and no labels. Now are you going to fuck me or not?”

 

Brian lubes and stretches Justin with his fingers, puts on the condom, and enters Justin. They start out sweet and gentle. Brian presses kisses on Justin’s shoulder, jaw, and lips and he makes Justin moan, wanting more. When they work up a good rhythm and he has Justin saying, “Come on, Brian. Faster!” He obliges. When they are fucking hard and fast and whispering filth into each other’s ears, Justin takes him by surprise and turns them over. Brian finds himself on his back and Justin rides him mercilessly. Brian looks down and sees Justin’s hole swallowing his cock then looks up when he feels Justin pin his arms above his head.

 

He knows it’s Justin’s way of asserting his dominance. He had bottomed from the top plenty of times before all this shit happened and he knows that Justin has all of these new feelings that have come with the change. He knows that intimately due to his own feelings changing so drastically. Despite what’s going on, he knows Justin will try to let Brian take charge once in a while. He let it happen for a while before he flipped them over.

 

Besides, how can he get frustrated when Justin looks so fucking hot?

 

So it’s whatever. He can truly top Justin another time when he feels like it. This is close enough for now. It isn’t quite as intense and all-consuming as it was the two other times he came today and he’s not quite ready to admit the reason for that. But fuck, he’s going to stop thinking about it so hard. He’s always been about what makes him feel good. He’s never been one to give up control, but it feels so good that he doesn’t mind. Besides, this is Justin. He has always broken his rules for Justin and never regretted it once.

 

So, in a moment of acceptance, he turns his head to the side and bares his neck. He feels Justin stop grinding on his cock so he lets his eyes wander up to look at him. Justin’s pupils are blown and his eyes look slightly off but he can’t pinpoint what isn’t normal until Justin opens his mouth, practically panting. There is definitely a hint of fangs coming in and for some reason Brian ridiculously thinks that they are a vampire’s version of an erection because Justin looks so fucking horny right now.

 

“Brian-” Justin starts to say but Brian interrupts him.

 

“I’m sure. Take whatever you need.”

 

“I’ll be gentle. I promise.”

 

Brian nods a little and exposes his neck even more. His dick twitches inside of Justin when his partner breathes in the scent of his neck and licks a stripe from the side down to the front.

 

Then gently, he feels Justin’s teeth graze against his jugular and he feels his own breaths quicken. Justin soothes him by gently stroking his hair until he calms down. When his breathing evens out again, Justin opens his mouth and gently lets his fangs sink in.

 

It only stings for a second. Justin keeps his promise and is very gentle with him. He feels a moment of absurd happiness when Justin moans through his feeding, as though as Brian’s blood alone gives him pleasure. Gently, Justin moves his hips to create friction once again and Brian finds himself gasping out as well. He slowly and shallowly thrusts into Justin’s channel as he puts his arms around his back to hold Justin while he drinks from him. He doesn’t hold back how much pleasure he is feeling. It’s kinkier than what he ever thought he would go for but he won’t deny that he’s enjoying the whole experience immensely. 

 

He starts to get light-headed but he is so into it that he doesn’t care. Even though the friction between Justin’s ass and Brian’s cock is minimal, he ends up coming anyway. That seems to turn Justin on and he gently unlatches himself from Brian’s neck and grabs a tissue off the night stand to put pressure on the marks he left behind. He lifts himself off of Brian’s cock and straddles his chest then jerks himself off with his other hand so he can mark Brian with his come. Justin shoots his load onto his chest and when some of it hits his lips, he lets his tongue dart out to lick it clean. Justin gets off of him to lie down beside him and pulls the front part of Brian’s body on top of his. Brian watches his lover bite his own wrist and hold it out for Brian to drink from.

 

He doesn’t know what it says about him, but he doesn’t even think about hesitating to do it. 

 

He also isn’t sure why it makes him feel so safe and loved when Justin rubs his back and whispers soothing and encouraging words while he does it either.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I need to call Ted today before Western Union closes.”

 

Justin had been washing his back in the small shower really just meant for one but pauses at his words. Pity. It had felt so good and reminded him of their mornings at the loft. Brian had taken a quick shower when he woke up but after their strenuous morning, he had been covered in come, sweat, and blood so that seems like a good enough reason to take a long one with Justin. The same Justin who he had just made very nervous by bringing up someone from their family back home.

 

“What are you going to tell him?”

 

“That I need cash. He has access to one of my bank accounts. I’ll have him wire some money today and maybe some more in a few days if we’re not back yet. As nice as it would be to just have a big chunk of it at once so we don’t have to worry, I don’t want to risk carrying too much money on me. I can probably get one of those prepaid debit cards at a Kmart or whatever though so that could work until we get back. Maybe we can stay somewhere a little nicer with room service.”

 

Justin laughs a little, “Roadside motels been getting to you?”

 

“Tiny showers are getting to me. Shitty water pressure is getting to me. Don’t you want to have room to actually fuck in here?”

 

Brian turns around and kisses him. Justin lets his tongue dance with Brian’s but then pushes him away.

 

“We’ve already fucked three times today and it’s not even noon.”

 

“So? Remember that time when I fucked you twelve times in eight hours?”

 

Justin sighs at the memory. He had barely been able to walk the next day. As great as Brian is in bed, he will make sure that the man never got a hold of Viagra again. A man with his stamina and love for fucking did not need it.

 

“We probably should get some rest though. We have to get on the road tonight and end up in some shitty town that I can’t really experience much of anyway since I can’t go outside during the day.”

 

Brian frowns at that and takes his face in his hands.

 

“Hey. This trip isn’t about sightseeing. It’s about getting back home. And when we get there, Finn will have that witch friend of his make you a ring so you can go outside and live as normally as possible. After that happens and things settle down, we can go on a real vacation. Hell, plan another cross-country road trip if you have your heart set on a real one.”

 

“That’s nice of you but I don’t see how things are going to settle down any time soon.”

 

Justin steps out of the shower and Brian follows him. He puts his arms around him and holds him from behind, pressing kisses onto his neck.

 

“Things are going to get better. I know they will. We have each other still, right? We’ll figure it out.”

 

It’s mushy as hell to say but Brian means it. Yet Justin just looks down and says nothing.

 

“Hey, what is it?”

 

“What are you going to tell Ted? About me?”

 

Brian lets out a sigh.

 

“I don’t know, Justin. I’m not going to tell him about what really happened over the phone. I’ll let him know that you’re okay and alive and that we’re on our way back. I don’t know what to tell him about why you disappeared. I think it’s best that they know you didn’t go willingly and that some sick fuck took you, even if you don’t want to tell them what he really did to you yet. We can keep it as truthful as possible but leave out the things they won’t believe at first until later. And we need to get a hold of the LAPD. Say that I found you. I don’t know what you should tell them.”

 

Justin nods.

 

“I don’t know what to say to the police either, Brian. I could say I went on a drug or drinking binge or some shit. Pretend I have a problem. That way they just dismiss me. I feel bad not saying anything else, especially when a woman died the same night I did. But I don’t know what else to say without sounding crazy.”

 

Brian rubs his shoulders. He doesn’t know what to say to the cops at this point either. He refuses to let Justin go back to LA. It’s too dangerous at this point. As much as he doesn’t want to make anyone think that Justin is fucked up, it might be for his own safety.

 

“Maybe we should have Carl call them then. Let him know that the situation is serious and that the people who took you aren’t to be messed with. He’ll want to get them arrested though. Fuck, don’t worry about it. I’ll figure it out and get it put behind us. They can wait until we get home to flip out at us. I’m going to call Ted, then Carl. Then we can nap so we can be awake for tonight. After we get the maid to give us new sheets. Jesus Christ, the wet spots on that bed...” Brian lets himself trail off as he walks out of the room. 

 

“I’ll go ahead and look for a maid to get fresh sheets. Stay in the bathroom until you hear me leave,” Brian calls out.

 

Justin shuts the door and Brian goes out, sheets folded up in his hands. He’s lucky that he took Spanish as a second language throughout high school and college because he gets his message across and insists he can change the sheets himself. 

 

Then he forces himself to call Ted. 

 

He does it outside. He doesn’t want to make Justin uncomfortable by talking about him. Even though he doesn’t plan on telling anyone what Justin is now, he can’t predict how talking about Justin getting abducted will affect him.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Ted, it’s me.”

 

Ted pauses for a second, “Brian? Fuck, do you realize how many people have been trying to call you? Debbie and Jennifer are flipping the fuck out! Michael is in total Queen mode, Lindsay is practically pulling her hair out with worry, and Emmett looks like he is on the verge of tears every five minutes. You fly out to LA because Justin goes missing, you call when you land, and then we don’t hear from you for days! What’s going on?”

 

“Ted…it’s bad. Justin is okay. He’s with me now and that’s what matters. But this sick fuck and his friends took him. They-”

 

Brian breaks off. It still upsets him.

 

“Is Justin hurt? Is he in the hospital?”

 

“He’s fine now. We’re in a motel in Burlington, Colorado. We’re on our way back.”

 

“Colorado? How did you end up there?”

 

“We drove. He called me and he had stolen one of the fucker’s cars and drove to Enterprise, Nevada. I picked him up and we’re taking I-70 all the way back.”

 

“You are driving across the country? You?”

 

“I need you to wire me money. I can’t use my credit cards or checks.”

 

“What are you talking about? Why can’t you use them?”

 

“I can’t leave a paper trail. They probably don’t know my name but I can’t take any chances. So if you could send me maybe $1500 from the account you have access to, I’d really appreciate it.”

 

“Brian, why can’t you leave a paper trail? You’re really freaking me out! Who are these people?”

 

“They’re… they’re really bad, Ted. Really powerful. The cops won’t be able to do shit. It would only get them killed or mind fucked if they tried. Please, I can’t answer all of this over the phone. Just send the money to the Western Union here so I can use it to get Justin home.”

 

Ted lets out a sigh.

 

“Fine. I’ll go down there right now and give you a call when it goes through. Should I call this number back?”

 

“Yeah, I’m not going to be turning my cell back on so this is the only way you can reach me.”

 

“What else can I do to help?”

 

“…Let Carl know a little bit of what’s going on. Have him call the police to tell them I found Justin. Lie and say Justin went on a drug binge. You can tell him that isn’t the case once he gets the report dropped and is off the phone.”

 

“Wait, what?”

 

“Carl’s a good, follows the rules cop, Ted. He’ll want to get the people who took him caught. It won’t happen and it might get someone hurt if he tries. Justin can tell him what happened when he gets back. The only reason I’m telling you is because you need to know why I can’t use my cards. Let everyone know that Justin’s alive and safe after Carl calls the LAPD so they can get a little bit of good news.”

 

“God, Brian. I don’t know what you and Justin have gotten into but be careful, you hear me? And fucking check in until you get back. I’ll call you when I get to Western Union.”

 

“Alright. Thanks, Ted.”

 

Brian goes ahead and waits close to the Western Union and is there when Ted calls back saying he’s transferred the money. He picks it up and gets some lunch to bring back to the motel. He approaches their door and calls Justin to let him know to go in the bathroom until he can get inside.

 

Brian walks in and is about to let Justin know that he can come out but sees a newscast on CNN.

 

_Marcus Swiger, a film gaffer who worked on films such as The Mothman, Speed Demon, and Flight to Fight, has confessed to the murder of socialite heiress Paris Hilton yesterday afternoon. Hilton, who Swiger claims he was casually dating, was reported missing Tuesday evening by her mother when she failed to appear at a Breast Cancer Benefit at The Beverly Hilton. Swiger reportedly called 911 and requested officers at his residence, then directed them to Hilton’s remains in his basement freezer. Our thoughts go out to the Hilton family during this time and we will keep you updated on this case as we get more information._

 

He puts the salads he bought in the fridge. He’s not up for eating any time soon and he doubts Justin will want anything either.

 

“Justin?” Brian calls out, voice shaking as he knocks on the bathroom door.

 

No answer.

 

“Justin, I’m coming in.”

 

He walks into the bathroom and sees Justin sitting on the toilet, covering his face with his hands and his shoulders shaking. 

 

“Justin-”

 

“H-He didn’t do it, Brian. He’s an innocent man and he’s probably going to spend the rest of his life in jail because he was convenient for Zachariah to compel. And here I am, on the run and, even though I know he didn’t do it, I can’t do shit about it.”

 

“You’re right. There’s nothing we can do for him. If we try to help him then we’ll probably be killed by Zachariah or put in some psychiatric institution by the state. It sucks that he’s getting blamed for it. It sucks even more that he was compelled to believe and tell the cops that he killed her. But it can’t be our problem. It severs the connection of your disappearance with hers and we’ll just have to use that to our advantage when it comes to dealing with your missing person’s case. It might be heartless to think that and I wish we could do something for the man, but I’m putting you first.”

 

“But it isn’t fair!” Justin wails out and Brian has a hard time calming him down.

 

Justin is still fucked up over the whole ordeal so Brian goes and makes the bed. He leads Justin over to it, holds his body against his, and lets Justin cry himself to sleep. He forces himself to get some rest as well. They need to be awake enough to drive as far away as they can from fucking California.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brian and Justin pull a stepford move and stay at a bed and breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Extreme violence and gore. Upsetting material.

Justin’s movements are stiff and he stays quiet after he gets everything together. Brian watches him carefully and really can’t get a read on how he’s feeling. He knows that Justin feels guilty about what happened. He shouldn’t feel that way. Brian keeps telling him that he’s just as much of a victim as this Marcus guy but Justin wasn’t really listening. He was barely even talking. Fuck, they actually had a decent morning despite everything and now it was coming back. Why did-

 

“I’m going to drive,” Justin says as he puts their belongings by the door.

 

Brian’s taken aback by Justin’s first sentence in over an hour but brushes the statement off.

 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll drive. You need to rest.”

 

Justin glares, “No. _You_ need to rest. The only time I’m able to be outside is at night. So I’m driving.”

 

“Justin-”

 

“Do not fight me on this, Brian,” Justin warns.

 

And maybe it’s the way that Justin says it, but Brian realizes he needs to choose his battles right now and holds his hands up in surrender.

 

“Fine. Go ahead and drive.”

 

And Brian is fine with Justin driving. He’s a little miffed over Justin carrying their shit back to the car and not letting Brian lift a finger though. He’s not some weak and helpless debutante. Just because Justin is a lot stronger than him now doesn’t mean he can’t do anything. 

 

“Let me take my bag,” Brian demands as Justin starts to pick it up.

 

“I’ve got it.”

 

“Justin, I can carry my fucking bag. Now give it here so I can take it to the car. I need to go and check us out anyway.”

 

Justin lets him take his bag and follows him to the car only to start following him to the office. Brian turns around with a questioning look.

 

“What are you doing?

 

“Going with you to the lobby.”

 

“Why don’t you go to the car and wait there?”

 

Justin just raises an eyebrow. What is he even supposed to get from that?

 

So he reminds himself to pick his battles yet again and keeps walking.

 

Brian hands over the key to the room and the man at the desk gives him an appreciative look and licks his lips. He hears Justin growl and feels his arm slip around his waist. Ah. He’s starting to catch on now.

 

“Well, we must be off. Come now, Sunshine.”

 

Brian starts to walk out of the office but turns around to find Justin staring the desk clerk down. 

 

“Justin, come on. We have to go,” Brian commands as he physically pulls him away.

 

As soon as they’re outside, Justin is keeping an eye on their surroundings and keeps a hand on Brian’s back. It gets to be too much when Justin opens the door for him and ushers him in but he waits to chew him out for it until Justin pulls out of the motel parking lot and starts driving.

 

“What the fuck was that all about?” Brian asks as he turns to his partner, “Why were you acting like a growling psychopath with that clerk? You jealous or something?”

 

Justin glares at him, “No. One glance and I could tell he wasn’t your type.”

 

“Then what-”

 

“I need to protect you. Make sure you’re safe. He could have been a threat.”

 

“You are being ridic-,” Brian starts but stops himself, “Look, I know you are freaking out over what happened to that guy but did you even see that clerk? He wasn’t a threat. And if he was, I could have taken him.”

 

“You don’t know that. He may look physically inferior compared to you but so do I.”

 

He really doesn’t know how to answer that. Justin’s technically right but even more so he is completely overreacting. 

 

“Okay. I get that there are people out there that can rip my heart out with their bare hands and snap my neck without even flinching but they aren’t everywhere.”

 

Justin keeps staring straight ahead at the road, poker face in place, then answers him with an even voice that doesn’t give away anything.

 

“You don’t know that. I’m not taking any chances when it comes to you. You’re mine and I’m not letting anyone hurt you. Ever. Anyone who does will pay.”

 

Brian sighs and looks out the car window and into the darkness. His boyfriend is so fucking batshit. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

The drive is calm and would be peaceful if it weren’t for his nerves being completely shot for the last few days. He falls asleep at one point and wakes up to Justin holding his hand. Despite their heated conversation earlier, Brian laces his fingers with Justin’s and they sit like that for the next hour on the road. He watches the time pass and as soon as 3 am hits, he starts to feel antsy. When it’s close to 4, he brings up his worries to Justin.

 

“Justin, we need to find a hotel soon.”

 

“We’re good for a couple of more hours.”

 

“No, we’re not. We need to start finding a hotel so that we don’t cut it close.”

 

“It’s not even 4 o’clock in the morning. Chill out.”

 

“Justin…” Brian warns then makes himself take a calming breath, “That thing you said about not taking any chances? It goes both ways. You’re mine too.”

 

He sees the corners of Justin’s mouth turn upwards just enough so it’s barely noticeable. Brian’s pretty sure he’s made his point.

 

“Lawrence, Kansas is coming up in a few miles. I’ll exit there and we’ll find a place to stay.”

 

Near the exit, there’s a sign that says,  
Victorian Country Bed & Breakfast  
24 Hour Check-In  
Exit in 4 miles

 

Justin points it out and dryly says, “There’s a Bed & Breakfast not too far from here. Think of how romantic it could be, my love!”

 

Does Justin think he can get a rise out of him? Well, he’ll show him.

 

“Oh dear, that sounds lovely! I am counting down the minutes where we can hold each other near the fireplace and have tea in the morning with a pair of traveling lesbians.”

 

He knows Justin doesn’t take him seriously, but that’s where they end up going. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

The big bed & breakfast is on a back road on a huge piece of property. It’s a beautiful country manor and, although Brian would never admit it, he’s relieved that they can stay somewhere nice for the next 15 or so hours rather than at a roadside motel. The place only has two cars parked out front so they should have a decent choice of rooms too. 

 

They walk up to the huge front porch and ring the doorbell. A college-aged girl with black hair, nose ring, and dark makeup opens the door. It throws Brian off. He had been expecting an elderly woman or an Emmett clone.

 

“Yeah?” the girl prompts.

 

“We’re looking for a room. This still is a bed & breakfast, right?”

 

“How would my grandparents pass the time and completely take up my nights with the graveyard shift if it wasn’t?”

 

“Right. Well, we’re interested in checking into a room and checking out tonight.”

 

“You’ll have to pay for tomorrow night then. You’re supposed to check-out after breakfast.”

 

“I thought it was a 24 hour check in.”

 

“ _In_ being the key word. You check out after breakfast. You can leave whenever you want as long as you pay for tomorrow morning as well.”

 

“Fine. I’ll pay you to let us stay here now until tomorrow morning. Deal?”

 

“Whatever,” the girl says as she leaves the door open for them as she heads back to the desk.

 

Brian follows her but turns when Justin hisses his name.

 

“ _Brian!_ ”

 

Justin is still standing on the porch and looks alarmed. Brian walks back over to him and stands in front of him.

 

“What?” Brian whispers back.

 

“I can’t go inside.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“I physically can’t walk in. It’s like I’m walking into a wall.”

 

“Fuck. Vampire thing?”

 

“Buffy had to invite Angel inside her home. So yeah, vampire thing.”

 

“That’s television, Justin. Not real life!”

 

The girl comes back over with her hands on her hips, “Are you guys checking into a room or not? Or do you plan on standing there, twiddling your thumbs, and watching the sun rise?”

 

“Not a chance in hell are we watching a sunrise,” Brian mutters as he runs his hands through his hair, “So do you live here with your grandparents?”

 

The girl raises an eyebrow, “Yeah, since I was seven. Why?”

 

Brian straightens his shoulders, “And you don’t even have the decency to invite us in properly? My boyfriend is a stickler for manners. I would hate to complain about the service we received to your grandparents.”

 

The girl glares then straightens up to give a sarcastic bow.

 

“Welcome to the Victorian Country Bed & Breakfast. Won’t you both please come in so that we can host you?”

 

Justin takes one hesitant step and crosses the threshold.

 

“Much better,” Justin says as he shakes himself out of the shock of this new development, “Thank you for your hospitality.”

 

“Whatever,” the girl sneers.

 

Brian gives her fake names, makes sure they get a room with blackout curtains, and pays in advance with cash. He and Justin go to their room, turn on a shitty television movie and fall asleep.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

Brian wakes up and the room is completely immersed in darkness. He doesn’t have a clue what time it is because of that but the clock on the bedside table glows with the numbers 8:24 am.

 

He’s about to go back to sleep and, just as he puts his arms around Justin and breathes in his scent, there’s a knock on the door.

 

“Who-?” Justin starts as he shoots up into a sitting position. 

 

“Yoo Hoo!” a woman’s voice calls out.

 

“Yeah?” Brian yells out, not even bothering to get out of bed. 

 

“I just wanted to let our late arrivals know that breakfast will be served in the next few minutes. My husband makes wonderful omelets and we would love to give you boys a nice meal!”

 

“Uh, my boyfriend has a bad case of the flu. He’s going to stay up here. I should probably stay with him. I can run to town and get something later,” Brian says when he goes closer to the door, still not opening it.

 

“Oh, nonsense. We can cook you both something to eat. If you’d like to come down and eat with us, Tom can make your boyfriend something to take up to him when you are finished with your meal.”

 

“Alright, fine. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

 

“See you soon!”

 

Brian looks at Justin, “Well, Sunshine, what do you want on your omelet?”

 

“Surprise me. And be careful.”

 

Brian scoffs, “We’re at a Bed & Breakfast. What’s the worst that can happen?”

 

“I don’t even know anymore. Just do it.”

 

Brian smiles, and in a moment that spontaneously brings him a surge of affection, he bends down to kiss Justin. It’s supposed to be a chaste peck but that never works out when he tries it. He feels the tip of Justin’s tongue dart between his lips and Brian returns the favor. He’s ready to forget breakfast and roll on top of Justin but Justin pushes him away.

 

“Go eat. Bring me back something. It’ll help with the cravings.”

 

“As long as you promise to fuck me when I come back.”

 

He can see the effect that ultimatum has on Justin even through the darkness.

 

Without another word, Brian heads downstairs. He finds the large oak table and instantly feels out of place. He almost wishes check-in girl was here but it seems as though she’s in bed. He could maybe start a conversation with her or at least exchange eye rolls. The only other people here are the woman who knocked on their door and her husband, a retirement age couple who probably have fanny packs upstairs, a young woman with a son around Gus's age, and some stepford couple who resemble Eli and Monty but aren’t because Monty would turn his nose at his look alike’s shirt. 

 

He wants to turn around and go back up to Justin but is spotted by the owners.

 

“Hello, dear! Come, sit! We’ve just been doing introductions. How do you like your coffee?”

 

Brian drags himself over to the table and sits down.

 

“Black with sugar. I can stir in the sugar.”

 

Brian wants to just lay low, eat his meal, and bring something up for Sunshine but to no avail.

 

“I asked my granddaughter if she gave you a tour of the place when you checked in and she admitted that she didn’t. We love Hannah dearly but she isn’t much of a people person. Would you like a tour of the place later on?”

 

Brian shakes his head, “It’s a beautiful piece of property and under other circumstances I would take you up on it but my boyfriend is sick.”

 

“That’s a shame, especially while traveling. Are you two on vacation?”

 

Brian hesitates to come up with a lie but manages, “We’re coming back from Seattle. Sam wanted to see the northwest and we had a great time. The weather wasn’t the best though. We decided to drive back to North Carolina instead of fly to see the country.”

 

“That’s quite a trip! I'm sure it's even harder to make at night.”

 

“We both work the night shift at home. We figured it was best to stay in our schedule.”

 

“What is it that you two do?”

 

“We both work at our local hospital. That’s how we met. Sam’s a CNA and I’m a lab technician.”

 

“Oh, it's so nice that you get to work with your boyfriend. I just love running this place with my husband. Well, you boys tell us if you need anything at all. Matthew, right?”

 

“Yeah, that’s me. Thank you for the hospitality.”

 

“Not a problem dear, now what would you like on your omelet?”

 

He spends the rest of the meal trying not to engage in too much conversation. Although he does enjoy chatting with Nora and Declan. Declan reminds him a little of Gus, with his sweet outgoing personality and inquisitive questions. Although this place isn’t his idea of a good time, she seems to be happy to take her son here for the weekend. Some people’s tastes baffle him.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brian comes back up with Justin’s omelet and slips into the bedroom. Justin has the light on and is sitting up and reading a pamphlet from the bedside table.Brian sits down next to him and Justin looks up.

 

“You get bored without me?” Brian asks.

 

Justin nods, “Yeah. I need something to do to occupy my time. Sitting here in the dark all day is getting boring.”

 

“Now, we haven’t just been sitting and you know it.”

 

Justin smiles, “Ah, yes. That does make the time pass quite nicely.”

 

Brian leans in for a kiss then says, “Eat your omelet and I’ll make today worth your while.”

 

As Justin digs in, he inquires about breakfast downstairs.

 

“Meet any potential new friends?”

 

Brian scoffs, “Not really. They were nice and welcoming. Seemed accepting of our relationship. But I don’t think we have much in common. Even if we did, they think we are different people. We’re from North Carolina, by the way. Your name is Sam and you’re a CNA at our local hospital. You met Matthew the lab technician, that would be me, on the graveyard shift.”

 

“How romantic! So there weren’t any traveling lesbians?”

 

“No lesbians. There was another gay couple down there but they were hardcore stepford.”

 

Justin nods in understanding, “That’s a shame. To lose two of our own to such a terrible propaganda.”

 

“My thoughts exactly.”

 

Brian waits for Justin to be done with his meal so he thinks he’s being pretty patient for what he really wants. But when Justin swallows his last bite, Brian has his lips on his. Justin rolls Brian down on the bed, they rid each other of their clothes, and, when Justin makes that first thrust into his body, it feels right.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

They sleep on and off. They also fuck on and off before they take a shower together. They wash each other and Brian lets Justin drink from his wrist while the hot stream flows overhead. It’s cleaner that way and no questions of blood on the sheets will be raised by the well-meaning but nosy people that live here. Brian is starting to like the feeling and likes it just as much when Justin feeds him. It’s weird and he logically knows that. But he can feel what Justin is feeling right after the exchange and it’s as though there’s a tether connecting their brains and their hearts together. 

 

They dry each other off, forego the clothes, and lie down together, limbs tangled. Justin’s fingers run through his hair as he lays his head in the crook of Justin’s neck. They say nothing for a while but the silence feels nice and it isn’t broken until Justin clears his throat.

 

“There’s an independent bookstore in town. I’m thinking about going so I can buy a few books to occupy some time during the day and get some other things for the road. There’s a laundromat close by too so I can take some of our stuff to wash it.”

 

Brian rolls over and nods, “Okay. After we check out in a few hours, we can stop before we get back on the the interstate.”

 

Surprisingly, Justin shakes his head.

 

“I want to go on my own.”

 

Brian squints his eyes in suspicion, “Why? You getting sick of me?”

 

Justin rolls his eyes, “No, Brian. Far from it. I just...I need to know that I can function on my own out in public. Sunset is around 5:30. I can leave at about 6 and be back by 8 or so. I think I will be okay. I just need to interact with people, do normal things, and know that I can do them without you there.”

 

Brian is hesitant to let Justin go off on his own but he reminds himself that Justin can take care of himself, especially now.

 

“Okay. Just be careful. And call me if you think you might lose control.”

 

Justin nods, “I will. Don’t worry.”

 

Brian sleeps for the next hour or so and wakes up when the sun sets. He is drowsy when he hands over the keys and some cash to Justin. Justin kisses him on the forehead and tells him to go back to sleep before he leaves the room. He takes Justin’s advice and does.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

Justin goes into the small bookshop and looks for some books that he and Brian might like to read during the day. The cashier smells pretty good but she’s nice and helpful so it makes it so he really doesn’t want to hurt her. He looks through the different genres and chooses six books to take with them on the road. He chooses _Little Children_ and _Boy A_ which both look pretty depressing but maybe their turmoil will distract him from his own in his life. He picks up _The Sex Lives of Cannibals_ because the title alone is now a little close to home. He throws in _Me Talk Pretty One Day_ , _Cloud Atlas_ , and Marlon Brando’s autobiography for Brian then heads out to check on his laundry down the street.

 

When Justin gathers their clothes, puts them in the car, and is pulling into a Target parking lot, he feels an unexpected surge of almost debilitating fear.

 

That’s when he knows Brian is in trouble.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Brian wakes up to the sounds of screaming followed by a thump.

 

He sits up in bed, disoriented and not sure exactly what he’s heard. He looks towards the door and gets up to look out the door. He sees nothing so he gets dressed and goes downstairs to see if Justin is back yet.

 

That’s when he sees the blood.

 

It’s everywhere. The blood splatters the walls and a thick trail goes down the hall, as though someone was dragged. His first instinct is to run in the other direction but there’s a young girl who lives here, there’s that boy who is the same age as Gus staying with his mother. He can't just turn away and think of himself. 

 

So he follows the sickening trail and finds the body of Mrs. Richards, the co-owner. When he turns to go into the kitchen, he finds Mr. Richards pinned to the wall by butcher knives. 

 

He feels his breath leaving him and he knows he has to leave. He needs to warn whoever else is in the building and at least get the money and his phone to call the police. So Brian makes a run for it upstairs and sees something that will be burned in his brain for the rest of his life. 

 

A woman with long ratty hair is humming to herself and bent over the little boy. Declan. That is his name. Was his name. Wielding a large serrated blade, she saws through the skin of his neck and his esophagus. She cuts and cuts, chopping her way to the bone. Nora lays there, choking on her own blood and reaching out for her dead son, gurgling out her last breaths. Brian hasn't been standing there for more than 10 seconds. He wants to scream and drag her away to some semblance of safety. But all the sound dies in his throat when the woman swiftly removes the boys head. She stabs Nora through the skull, looks up at Brian and smiles, then throws the severed head at him. 

 

"Another visitor!" the woman screeches and a large man comes out of one of the occupied rooms with a bloody axe. 

 

That's when he runs.

 

He runs down the stairs and makes a run for the lobby. He tucks behind the stairs when he hears someone's footsteps and a man calmly walks by and goes up the stairs, his hands rough and covered in blood. Brian keeps a hand over his mouth to block out the sounds of his breathing and, as soon as the man is out of sight, he peaks out to make sure he threw off the man with the axe and runs for the back door instead. He pauses when he hears a girl crying from the parlor.

 

"Please don't hurt me. Just go away!"

 

"Now dear, is that any way to speak to your mother? We haven't seen each other in eleven years. But now I want you to join me. I want you to meet my family. Chad, Billy, and Sandra tagged along with me on this trip but you still haven't met the rest. Oh and when you meet Xavier...sweetheart, he's such a good leader. He's been so good to me. 

 

When Brian looks in, he sees Heather's eyes, filled with tears, glare directly at her mother. She leans in and whispers, "Fuck you."

 

The woman sighs and says, "I was afraid you would say that."

 

Heather's mother reaches into the waistband of her pants. When he sees her pull out a knife, he yells out, "Heather, watch out!"

 

Heather starts to duck when her mother swings the knife to slash her throat and receives a slash to the face instead. Brian tackles the woman to the ground, fighting for the knife and trying disarm her one way or another. The woman screams, kicking and scratching at Brian. Brian gets a hold of the knife and almost feels triumphant. Suddenly, she stops her struggle. Not in defeat. She just looks through him and laughs and laughs, like she is seeing the funniest thing in the world. 

 

"Watch out..." Heather groans out, slumped to the floor in pain. 

 

Brian turns to look behind him and sees the man with the axe raising it above his head to swing it down upon him. But before he can do anything to defend himself, a blonde head quickly latches on to the man's neck. 

 

The man screams in fear and Justin takes opportunity of his distraction by grabbing the axe. He kicks the man's feet out from under him and stares down at him, face bloody and vampiric. 

 

Without a word, Justin swings the axe down and chops off the man's right hand.

 

The man shouts, curses, and panics. He flails around as Justin stomps on his genitals for good measure before he swings the axe down on the man's neck.

 

Justin turns and looks at the three living people in the room then pulls Brian away before pointing the axe in the woman's face. 

 

"Get up," Justin compels.

 

The woman gets up and stares at Justin with no expression.

 

"Tell me your name. Your real name."

 

"Monica Richards."

 

"Tell me how you are related to the people who own this property."

 

"They used to be my parents. Heather is my daughter."

 

"Explain 'used to be.'"

 

"I met the love of my life when I was 25. I left my daughter here and never looked back. Until now."

 

"Tell me why you and your friends killed everyone staying here."

 

"Because it's fun," the woman says, her eyes wide and twinkling.

 

"Tell me every vampire you know."

 

The woman looks confused by the command.

 

"What?"

 

Justin takes a few steps back.

 

"You will answer my next questions honestly: Were you sent to kill me and this man right here specifically?" 

 

"I was sent to kill all of my remaining links to my old life. I gave Heather a chance to enter my new one but she blew it. Shedding your blood would have just been the cherry on top."

 

"Do you know anyone that has supernatural abilities?" 

 

"Xavier, my master, my leader, my lover. He's a god. He has taken us to places where no man or woman can travel and will live forever," she boasts, believing it completely, "Your blood is a sacrifice to keep him thriving. He will rise and society will look up to him with fear and admiration."

 

"Justin," Brian says, voice hoarse and shaky, "She's not right in the head. Xavier could be more than human but he could also just run a cult."

 

Justin keeps his eyes on Monica, studying her closely then asks, "Do you know or know of a Zachariah Remington?"

 

"No."

 

Justin lets out a breath, "Listen closely. I compelled Chad and I killed Sandra when she came at me through the door. If you don't want to end up like Sandra and the man I just slaughtered then you do exactly as I say. I am going to wash off the axe handle to get rid of my fingerprints. You are going to hold it and take the blame for Billy’s murder, as well as any other murder you committed today. I'm going to hide any evidence of my partner and I ever being here and as soon as we walk out that door, you will forget that you ever saw us. You will sit down and quietly wait for the police. You will admit to your crimes, not just today's but every major crime you have ever committed. Do you understand me?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Good." 

 

Brian watches Justin step away and soften his expression when he approaches Heather.

 

“Look at me, Heather,” Justin commands gently as he tilts her chin up.

 

He sees Justin wince at the gash on her face. The girl tries to squirm away and cries out, “Don’t hurt me, please!”

 

“Shhh, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to help you. Now stay still and open your mouth.”

 

Heather stops and lets her lips part. Justin bites into his wrist and Brian feels a twinge of irrational jealousy when he puts his bloody wrist to the girl’s mouth.

 

“Now drink. It will heal your wound.”

 

Heather drinks and the wound closes up.

 

“Try not to die in the next couple of days,”Justin orders her as he pulls his wrist away.

 

“I want you to forget that you ever saw us. Twenty minutes after we leave, I want you to hide in a closet and call 911. When the police come, you will tell them what happened but leave us out of it. Your mother killed Billy and Chad killed Sandra. I want you to show us the books that you checked us in with. Erase any other note that a Matthew Pine and a Samuel Jones checked in here.Those aren’t our real names but there’s no need for the police to question a wrong headcount. Do these things for me, Heather.”

 

Heather nods in a trance, “Okay. I’ll do those things.”

 

“Good. Now go to the front desk and wait for me there.

 

Heather gets up and does what she’s told. Justin rushes over to Brian and puts his hands on his face.

 

“Shit, are you alright?”

 

Brian feels tears well up in his eyes but blinks them back. He tries to keep the images of the blood, the boy, his mother, and Justin practically decapitating a man right in front of him out of his head. He feels himself shaking profusely and he tries to keep his breaths even. Justin tries to hold him but Brian pulls away.

 

“Don’t.”

 

Justin looks heartbroken by the request but nods. 

 

“I’m going to go get our things. I’d like you to walk with me. I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone.”

 

And, despite the fact that Brian is a bit frightened of Justin right now, he doesn’t want to be left alone either.

 

Justin makes the bed, flushes their used condoms down the toilet, and cleans out every trace that indicates they stayed at the bed and breakfast. 

 

 _”The plus side is that it’ll save my reputation,”_ Brian suddenly thinks then lets out a hysterical giggle.

 

Justin looks up sharply in concern.

 

“Brian-”

 

But Brian holds up a hand and walks back out into the hall. He barely manages to stop the bile from rising up when he sees the headless four year old.

 

They put their things in the car and go back inside. Justin orders Monica to wash and wipe the axe handle then has her put Billy’s dead hands around it as well as her own. 

 

“Now go sit out front and wait in the rocking chair.”

 

And that’s how Justin got two insane and murderous cultists to sit down and accept their fate. He takes the check-in book from Heather, has her wipe down their key, and ushers Brian to the passenger seat of their car

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Justin drives 10 miles over the speed limit and neither of them speak for two hours. He still hasn’t snapped out of that darker side. He can’t let himself. If he lets himself, he’ll panic and throw up. Dead bodies littering the hallways. A dead little boy. He fucking killed someone. He killed two people. He can’t, he can’t-

 

That’s right. He can’t. And he won’t let himself feel guilt. It was for Brian. They would have killed Brian. They deserved to die. He can’t let himself feel anything right now. He has the power to block feelings of shock and trauma. He can switch them off until it’s a more suitable time to feel them. Brian can’t. He’s human.

 

He needs to take care of Brian. He’s never seen anyone like this. It’s obvious that his lover is suffering from the trauma he just witnessed. His mouth is partway open, his eyes are wide and empty of emotion. He’s just staring at the window, not actually looking at the darkness outside.

 

“Brian?”

 

But nothing about Brian’s demeanor even hints that he heard Justin. He sits there, unseeing.

 

“Brian, please say something.”

 

Nothing.

 

“Try to rest, okay? We can stop in St. Louis and find a place to stay for the day.”

 

Brian doesn’t respond. Justin will have to assume that St. Louis is okay with him.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Justin actually makes good time so he ends up checking them into a Super 8 in Altamont, Illinois. Brian still hasn’t moved so he comes around to get the wallet out of his pocket. 

 

“Brian, come in with me,” Justin commands as he holds out his hand.

 

Brian’s expression doesn’t change but he does look down and takes Justin’s hand.

 

Justin leads him to the office and asks for a room. The woman hands them a key and barely looks up from her book. He takes Brian to the room and sits him down on the bed.

 

“I’m going to get our bags and bring them in. I’ll be right back.”

 

Justin locks the door behind him then goes out and gets their bags. He manages to carry the stuff they need in one trip but struggles with the key to get the door.

 

“Brian?” Justin calls out when he sees his lover his no longer on the bed.

 

The bathroom door is closed and he hears retching coming from the other side.

 

“Brian?” Justin says softly as he knocks.

 

He hears quiet sobs in response. 

 

“Brian, let me in. Please.”

 

But the quiet sobs don’t stop. They just echo off the toilet bowl and Brian can’t or won’t answer him.

 

After a few more minutes, Justin hears the toilet flush and Brian slowly walks out and lies down on the bed. Justin kneels next to the bed and tries to brush his tears away.

 

He knows what he has to do. It’ll be harder and it might not be the right thing to do to his partner but he’s suffering. What he witnessed will stay in his memory forever. Brian witnessed more of it than he did. He’s human and can only take so much. 

 

In order for Brian to feel better, he needs to make sure he forgets.

 

So he focuses on the fact he wants to compel. He focuses on who and the reason why.

 

“Brian, look at me,” Justin says as he lightly taps his chin.

 

Brian’s wet and red rimmed eyes look up and lock into Justin’s stare.

 

“We had a wonderful day yesterday. We stayed in a decent hotel, ordered room service, and made love all day. You topped me half of the time and I loved it. We found East of Eden on TV and watched it. You moved your lips with every line. We went to a bookstore after we checked out and you made fun of me for the depressing books I picked out and called me morose. I drove us here and you told me you loved me about 30 miles back. I said it to you too. Then we checked in here and you complained about the horrible bed spread. You will remember what I just told you as the day we’ve had and what really happened yesterday will be erased. Do you understand?”

 

“Yes,” Brian answers, voice monotone. 

 

“Good. Now get some rest. I love you, Brian.”

 

“You too.”

 

Justin kisses him and lets his lips linger. He forces himself to break the kiss and comes around to hold Brian as tightly as he can. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brian wakes up, gasping. He feels tears on his face and Justin's hand rubbing his back.

 

"You okay?" Justin asks standing over him, concerned.

 

"Bad dream," Brian tells him, breath still hitching.

 

"What was it about?"

 

Brian just shakes his head. He doesn't want to think about the blood and small headless body. He doesn't want to put the fucked up images Brian's brain came up with into Justin's head. 

 

"Don't worry about it."

 

When Brian turns on the news at noon, he feels inexplicably upset over some announcement regarding a cult going on a killing spree at some bed and breakfast in Lawrence, Kansas. Maybe he was upset because it wasn't very far from where they are now or because a boy who was killed was around Gus's age. Maybe it was because of the bloody dream he had himself. And, as much as the dream still haunts him throughout the day, he tells himself that's all it was: a dream.

 

He can't dwell on something like that now. Their next stop is Pittsburgh. He needs to focus on the changes that they would have to make to their lives at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please review!


	12. Homecoming Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin worries about Brian on their last day on the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to make this chapter and next chapter one long chapter but decided it is best split up into parts. Next chapter should be up by Sunday.
> 
> There are a couple of readers a bit weary of the Dominant/Submissive aspect of this story. So WARNING for a sex scene near the end where the boys play with that.

Justin’s in the bathroom when he hears the news announcement through the door.

 

Brian has always been one to keep up with current events, whether they be local, national, or international. People back home might be surprised by that but Brian liked to keep up with what was going on for business purposes. His job required him to be aware and to keep the conversation flowing with potential clients.

 

So he shouldn’t have been surprised that Brian would turn on the local news, especially when he was staying inside with Justin to keep him company.

 

It wasn’t like he thought he could keep the tragedy from Brian altogether. Murderous members of a cult go on a killing spree at an idyllic midwestern bed and breakfast? It was made for national headlines. But he knows that some subconscious part of Brian remembers what happened. The man had woken up in tears, most likely due to dreaming about something he had seen. He remembers Brian’s words in the hallway, the ones that got stuck in his throat about the mother reaching out for her son while her killer sawed her little boy’s head off. That had been the last thing he said until Justin compelled him to forget about it.

 

He peeks outside and sees the boy’s picture come up on the screen and sees Brian crying but wiping his face and looking at his hand as though he doesn’t know why he’s reacting that way.

 

“Brian? What’s wrong?” he asks, even though he knows.

 

“Nothing. I don’t kn-know,” Brian says, distressed.

 

What can he say? That he knows why Brian doing something uncharacteristic like crying over a “random” news announcement, albeit a tragic one? That they were there but he blocked the whole day out of Brian’s head for his own good?

 

He can’t. At least not until he talks to Finn about it. He needs to find out what to do and see if he possibly could have made things worse. So he’ll just have to play stupid.

 

“Is it what’s on the news?”

 

“Yeah, I guess. The kid was Gus’s age.”

 

“Shit.”

 

Justin comes and sits down next to Brian on the bed and puts an arm around him. When Brian’s face crumples and he leans into Justin’s touch, it’s a shock to say the least.

 

“Hey, it’s alright. Brian…” Justin comforts, feeling overwhelmed himself. But Brian’s upset. It’s his job to comfort him and make him feel better. He may be overwhelmed but he has to do something.

 

“He was a fucking baby,” Brian cries out. All Justin can do is put a hand on the back of Brian’s head, pull him closer, and let his partner’s tears drip onto his neck.

 

Justin must suck at compelling. The reason he did it to Brian was to take away his pain. But he didn’t. Brian wouldn’t be sitting on the bed, confused and crying, if he had managed to do that.

 

Brian lifts his head off of Justin’s shoulder, wipes his eyes, and clears his throat, “I don’t know why I’m like this right now. It’s just some random story on the news. Something like this shouldn’t affect me. Fuck, sorry I got my snot on you.”

 

Brian turns away, embarrassed. Justin rubs circles into his back and frowns over what’s going on.

 

“Don’t apologize. You’ve had a really stressful week. You also woke up several times after you went to bed so you didn’t sleep well. You probably just hit your limit and the story set you off. It’s a tragedy, I don’t blame you.”

 

”I’m just really tired,” Brian says, his voice cracking on the last word.

 

“Then why don’t you nap for a little bit? Maybe it will calm you down and you’ll feel better. You’re worrying me.”

 

“Sorry. A nap might help. I was having these fucked up dreams last night.”

 

“I know. I had to wake you up from a couple. Now come on, lie back.”

 

Brian lies down and Justin covers him with the blanket.

 

“What are you going to do?”

 

Justin shrugs, “Probably read that David Sedaris book. I need something light.”

 

“Tell me how it is,” Brian requests before he turns over.

 

Justin reads as he listens to Brian’s breathing. It takes about 20 minutes for Brian to fall asleep. He waits another 20 to make sure Brian’s resting deeply enough for him to sneak in the bathroom and call Finn.

 

“Hello?”

 

And suddenly Justin doesn’t even know where to start. 

 

“Justin?”

 

“I killed two people.”

 

Finn breathes out, “Whatever you do, don’t completely turn off your humanity. Killing someone due to hunger and then turning it off is the worst thing you can do because you’ll no longer have a problem doing it on a regular basis.”

 

“It wasn’t because of hunger. I didn’t feed off the first person. I just stabbed her. I only bit the other guy to scare him before I chopped off his hand and put an axe through his neck.”

 

Finn is silent for several seconds.

 

“I’m sorry, what?”

 

“The woman came at me with a knife. Brian was in trouble so I killed her so I could get to him. The man was about to put an axe through Brian’s head when I got there and I just lost it.”

 

“...I think you need to start from the beginning.”

 

Justin rehashed the story, as painful as it was. He told Finn about feeling Brian’s fear and about what they had witnessed, separately and together. He told him how he felt when he saw the man standing above Brian, seconds away from killing him. And then he told him how he compelled the other two members of the group to take the fall for his crimes as well as their own and erased all evidence of Brian and him being there.

 

“It sounds horrific and I’m not saying you couldn’t have handled it better, but don’t...don’t beat yourself up about killing those two people. The first one would have been seen as self defense and you saved Brian’s life with the second. If you were human and would have admitted to it, a court wouldn’t have convicted you most likely. You were driven by the bond to save your partner. When you saw him in that sort of peril, you snapped and your vampiric side took over.”

 

“I don’t regret what I did. Brian’s alive and that’s all that matters. I’m bothered by compelling someone else to admitting to it. Zachariah did the same thing to Marcus Swiger to cover his coven. I guess I’m no better than him.”

 

“Marcus Swiger is an innocent man. You defended yourself and Brian then made sure two people who went to that place specifically to kill people answered to their crimes. There’s a difference and you know that.”

 

“You’re right. Logically, I know that.”

 

“You’ve at least partially switched off your humanity. I can tell. Many vampires freak out and are wracked with guilt after they first kill someone if they don’t switch it off but not you.”

 

“I had to take care of Brian. He’s human and can’t switch off his emotions, although he has always tried. Last night sent him over the edge.”

 

“How is Brian now?”

 

“He...he doesn’t remember it happening.”

 

“...You compelled him to forget.”

 

“You didn’t see him. He saw a little boy beheaded, Finn. He’s fucking strong. He managed to save a girl’s life after witnessing that but what happened hit him after things settled down a little. I don’t think seeing me kill someone so...well, gruesomely helped either. He was barely holding it together when we were getting our stuff out of the place and was catatonic the whole six hour drive to Illinois. It fucked him up. I needed to take away his pain.”

 

“You can’t take away someone’s pain, Justin. Especially the pain of the man you are bonded to.”

 

“But I compelled him to forget.”

 

“You can make someone forget anything from what they had for breakfast to their whole entire lives. You can make someone kill another person or give you their money. Making them move a certain way, making them admit to certain things, and making them forget something or believe something else occurred is doable. But you can’t change how a person feels. You can’t make someone fall in love with you or hate someone they love. You can’t make a child feel happy after losing their pet. And you can’t block out the feelings and side effects that come with severe emotional trauma. You can block out the memories of the trauma itself and it may keep the full effect at bay for a while. As for the memories themselves, compulsion doesn’t rid a person of them completely. It gets buried very deeply into their subconscious. Usually this isn’t a problem. Unless they suspect that they have been compelled and know a witch who is willing to do a spell to reverse it, the memories stay hidden. But when it comes to you compelling Brian, it’s not going to work as well, especially when it comes to something of this nature. You genuinely thought that compelling him was for his own good. It might not have worked if you didn’t. But a vampire isn’t supposed to compel their bonded partner and for that reason it doesn’t work quite as well when they do. He might eventually start remembering bits and pieces or have dreams about what happened. He most likely will suffer from PTSD, even if he can’t pinpoint why he’s experiencing it.”

 

“I just wanted to stop him from hurting. He had a dream about it this morning. He wouldn’t talk about it but I know he did. He started crying when they announced it on the news and he looked so confused about why it affected him so much. The man tries to be a stone-cold bastard over half the time so it took him by surprise...Should I make him remember again?”

 

“It might need to be done. He might need to seek out help or support due to witnessing something so terrible and almost dying himself. It’ll take longer for him to heal if he doesn’t know what’s affecting him. Maybe it will eventually fade away once the media stops covering it and he’ll be fine. Keep an eye on him, I guess.”

 

“You _guess_? What is that supposed to mean?”

 

“I haven’t been close with a human for decades and even though my last long-term significant partner was a human, she died centuries ago. I told you I would help you out when it came to dealing with your vampirism. I can’t help Brian with the downfalls his humanity brings him.”

 

Justin feels a surge of anger at Finn. 

 

“He’s dealing with all of this because of what your brother did to me!”

 

“Really? From what I can tell, the cult that committed the crimes in Kansas is made up of humans. You staying in that bed & breakfast is just a horrible streak of shitty luck.”

 

“I wouldn’t have killed someone in front of him if I wasn’t a vampire.”

 

“If you hadn’t been a vampire, there’s a good chance both of you would be dead.”

 

“Neither of us would have been in Kansas in the first place if I hadn’t been turned.”

 

“I’ll give you that, Mr. Taylor. Bravo. Look, I understand you are worried and upset for Brian but I am on your side here. What I meant is that I am not equipped to deal with anything past how the bond makes him feel. If you feel like it gets worse let me know and we’ll take it from there.”

 

“...Fine.”

 

“I am sorry that you both had to experience what you did. It was a horrific crime.”

 

Justin swallows the lump in his throat, “Yeah, it was.”

 

“When will you arrive in Pittsburgh?”

 

“It’s an eight hour drive. We’ll probably be there around 2 or 3 am.”

 

“I compelled your friend Michael to give me the keys to the loft so that I could have the windows installed. I couldn’t go in, of course. I just shouted orders from outside the door and gave the keys back to your friend as soon as I was done. I hope you don’t mind.”

 

As much as Justin appreciates the idea that he will be able to at least look at the sun from the loft, he feels bad over Michael being compelled. 

 

“That’s all you compelled Michael to do, right?” Justin has to ask.

 

“Yes, Justin,” Finn sighs, “I have never been one to compel people for malicious reasons. Selfish reasons, sure, but not at the expense of others. I haven’t done that for a very long time.”

 

Justin isn’t sure if that is supposed to make him feel better or not.

 

“My witch contact will be back in Pittsburgh this week. She’ll stop by on Wednesday a little before dawn and do the ritual to make your ring. I will accompany her to discuss where we’ll go from here.”

 

“Alright...Thank you, Finn.”

 

“See you Wednesday, Justin.”

 

Justin pops his head back out and sees that Brian still looks peaceful in his sleep. Silently, he gets in bed beside him. He wants to be there in case anything haunts him during his nap.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Brian wakes up and rolls over to see Sunshine watching him.

 

“Hey,” Justin says softly as he reaches out to touch his face.

 

Brian closes his eyes and breathes out, nuzzling into the touch.

 

“Feel any better?” Justin asks him hesitantly.

 

Oh right. He had a mini-meltdown. Over a story on the news.

 

And while he feels embarrassment and the words, ‘What the fuck is wrong with you, Kinney?’ run through his head, when he thinks over what happened to those people, to that little boy, he feels fucking sick. This isn’t him. He doesn’t react to shit like this. He feels sadness over tragedies that don’t concern him at times. He’s not completely heartless. But what happened doesn’t affect him so there was no need to let it get to him like that. He needs to stop being such a fucking lesbian.

 

“Fine,” Brian brushes off then gets up.

 

“You’re sure? Because you were pretty upset-”

 

“I’m fine, Justin. I was just tired, that’s all.”

 

“...Okay,” Justin says, giving in.

 

“I need to call Finn and ask him if the windows are ready at the loft.”

 

“I already talked to him. They’re ready.”

 

“Oh. Then I need to remind him about the ring he needs to get to you.”

 

“That witch or whatever is coming over early Wednesday morning.”

 

“Right.”

 

He needs to do something. Get his mind off shit and make sure that Justin stops it with the worrisome looks. Of course Justin’s taken care of everything that can be done right now so Brian can’t do shit.

 

“I’m going for a walk,” he declares then goes to change and put on his shoes.

 

Justin pales at that, “Brian, I don’t-why don’t-....”

 

Brian looks up at Justin’s sputtering.

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t want to be here by myself,” Justin admits.

 

“I won’t be gone long.”

 

Justin shakes his head, “Please don’t.”

 

“Damn it, Justin. Why not?”

 

“I am just nervous for you to go off by yourself, alright?”

 

Brian squints at him. Justin knows he must be acting weird but why can’t Brian take a hint?

 

“I need to get us something to eat anyway. We didn’t even have breakfast and it’s almost 2 o’clock. I’ll just walk somewhere close by. There are places close by, right?”

 

“Yeah. There’s a Chinese place down the road,” Justin says, a little dejected.

 

Brian looks down at his partner sitting down on the bed and leans down to kiss his head.

 

“I’ll be back soon.”

 

Brian makes sure Justin goes into the bathroom before he opens the door and makes his walk down the street.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

He should have compelled him not to go. Or at least asserted authority over him and made sure he knew his place. Okay, that sounded a bit abusive but still. He doesn’t consciously know what happened yesterday. If he did, he might have understood why Justin didn’t want him leaving.

 

But he let him go. He felt like he had no right to be controlling at the moment. Especially when he just compelled Brian last night. And he knew Brian needed some space. They have had almost no time apart the last few days and he knew Brian was embarrassed about earlier. Nothing was going to happen while he was out. It would be fine. 

 

And everything did turn out to be okay. Brian came back with Greek food, not Thai, but he’s safe.

 

“This was just a few blocks further,” Brian had dismissed him as Justin came out of the bathroom.

 

He couldn’t tell if Brian was mad at him, still embarrassed over earlier, or in a mood from the forgotten memories from yesterday. But when Brian kissed him and Justin lowered him on the bed, Brian didn’t want to get fucked. He wanted a gentle and loving experience. Justin had spooned him as he entered his partner slowly and listened to Brian’s hitched breaths and gasps. 

 

When Justin reached around Brian’s body to stroke him to completion and he slipped out of his lover after his own orgasm, Brian surprised him by turning back around and holding Justin with almost every ounce of strength. Justin returned the strong embrace and they just stayed there on the bed, holding each other. They didn’t let go for a long time.

 

The rest of the day went by smoothly. He let Brian fuck him into the mattress. It was rough and good and Justin thinks Brian appreciated that he managed to stay on the bottom. Justin sucked him off and Brian let him feed from his thigh, something that they both ended up being turned on by. It gave his vampiric side a tiny bit of the dominance he was craving so badly and Justin knew he really needed to have another session with Brian when they got back home. But for now, this was enough. Justin drank from his lover and made sure his lover drank from him. Justin tried to ignore how Brian initially paled at the sight of his bloody wrist. He would figure out how to deal with Brian’s newly developed issue with the sight of blood soon. And then they just read, watched TV, took a shower together, and left right after sunset.

 

It was a longer drive even though they tended to make good time at night. Brian drove the first four hours and they switch after their bathroom break. It felt like the longest car trip of Justin’s life. He just wanted to get back home to the loft. He knew that everything was far from over but it felt as though being back at the loft would be the answer to all of their problems, even though it wouldn’t be.

 

He could let Brian have another hour of sleep but after they make their way through the panhandle of West Virginia, he wakes him up when they get to the sign that says, “Welcome to Pennsylvania!” 

 

Going by the emotional relief that floods Brian’s face that probably mirrors his own expression, Justin feels that it was a good call on his part. The sign for Pittsburgh makes him feel those intense feelings even more so.

 

Justin parks the car in front of the loft and they quickly unload their belongings to take upstairs. Brian gets the key out eager hands and leads them upstairs. He slides open the loft door and Justin is so ready. He’s ready to stand in his home and just hold Brian right there in the middle of the loft. He is so happy.

 

That is until he feels like he is walking into a wall.

 

Shit, this is supposed to be his home as well. He has to be invited in here too?

 

“Oh,” Brian says, seeing the problem Justin is experiencing, “Come in, Justin.”

 

Justin steps through, closes the door, drops their things, rushes into Brian’s arms, and kisses him.

 

Brian kisses him with just as much passion. Justin leads him into the bedroom so that he can have Brian in their bed. He wants to take him hard and make sure Brian feels it tomorrow. 

 

“I’m going to take you to the bedroom. I’m going to take you hard and I’m going to get rough with you. I want you to give into the bond and let me give you what you need.”

 

Brian’s eyes fill with lust and need and, even though he hesitates, he nods and pulls Justin in for a rough kiss.

 

They tear each other’s clothes off and smash their mouths together once more. He feels Brian’s hand fondle his cock and, while it feels good, he wants to move on to the main show.

 

“On your hands and knees.”

 

Brian bends down to nibble at his neck and Justin gives him a light slap to the rear to remind him of the command. Brian groans and gets on the bed. He rocks on his knees and perks his cute little ass out for him. Justin dives his face in, rimming him enthusiastically. He keeps Brian’s hips in place as he fucks him with his fingers. He wants to get right to it and fuck him mercilessly but he can see the toy drawer out of the corner of his eye so, without a word, he gets up to inspect it.

 

“Justin, what the fuck? If you aren’t fucking me in the next ten seconds, I will get up and go somewhere else to get the job done,” Brian yells out, upset from Justin’s abrupt departure.

 

Justin looks down at the dildos and the butt plugs and the cock rings. He chooses two cock rings for both of them and a plug for Brian to wear. He was going to fuck Brian with the red dildo. It’s about the same size as Justin’s cock, eight inches with nice girth. But Brian had been rude. He knows that Brian would never go somewhere to get fucked. He has too many trust issues to bottom for just anyone. He said it to piss Justin off. Their bond is new but Brian should know better. 

 

So he chooses one of their plugs. It’s on the larger side out of all the ones they have but not quite as big in circumference as his cock so Brian should be able to take it..

 

He grabs one of Brian’s ties from his top drawer and walks back towards his partner. He bends over Brian and puts the ring on Brian’s cock.

 

“Justin, fuck, just let me come. Why are you-”

 

“I went over there to get that red dildo you like so much. Don’t think I never knew you used it when you were by yourself.”

 

Brian blushes but doesn’t deny it. 

 

“Then why don’t you put it in me?”

 

“Tell me what you did wrong.”

 

“Fuck me and I’ll think about it.”

 

Justin gives his ass a slap. Brian lets out a small yelp then a gasp.

 

“Try again.”

 

“I tried to order you around.”

 

Another slap.

 

“Then what the fuck is it, Justin?”

 

“It wasn’t that you ordered me around, Brian. It’s that you ordered me around when it was made clear that I would be in charge tonight. You were rude and were trying to push my buttons. When I give you that first order and you obey, expect to be obeying me for at least the next couple of hours. Now put your head down on the pillow. Keep your ass up.”

 

Brian is hesitant but does what he’s told. Justin grabs the lube and lathers Brian’s hole.

 

“Since you spoke so rudely, you are going to have to wait a while before I fuck you. Don’t think of this as punishment. Think of it as a warning. I’m going to blindfold you and plug you up. This isn’t the biggest one. This one is just slightly narrower than my cock. You’ll be fine. But I don’t want you to make a sound or move from this position for ten minutes. Every time you do, another five minutes will be added. If you move or speak three times, I will make you lay across my lap and you’ll be spanked. Two strikes for every minute on the clock. Do you understand?”

 

“Fuck-”

 

“You just added another five minutes. Two more times and you will be punished. Say yes if you understand or say your safe word. If you say your safe word, we’ll stop, calm down, and proceed from there.”

 

The only sound that comes from Brian are his harsh breaths. For a second, Justin wants to pull out of what they’re doing and ask him how he really is, but then Brian lets out a moan and says, “Yes.”

 

“Good. Thank you, Brian.”

 

Justin blindfolds Brian and works the plug into Brian’s willing hole. He rubs where the plug stretches his sphincter a few times and has Brian spread his legs further so the plug is completely visible. Then he fetches a chair from the dinner table and the timer in the kitchen. He comes back, rubs the length of Brian’s back, and sets the timer.

 

“I am setting the timer for fifteen minutes. You’ll be fine. I’ll be right here.”

 

Justin presses the electronic timer and sits down diagonally from the bed. Brian’s breathing is harsh and he can tell that Brian’s dying to thrust just a little bit to get some friction from the bed. There is a moment where he adjusts his arms a little but Justin gives him a freebie, knowing it was due to the strain.

 

But when Brian lets out a moan and moves his hips a little, he can’t let it slide.

 

Without a word, he gets up and changes the 4 minutes and 58 seconds left on the clock to 10 minutes. He sees Brian tense at the sound of the beeps but the man stays still and silent.

 

Brian doesn’t move or speak until the timer rings. Justin is proud of him for doing so well, he really is, but he does wonder how Brian will behave when he eventually does get spanked. Knowing Brian, he could get pissed and put it on his banned list, along with the collars, harnesses, sounding, whips, chains, golden showers, scat, and fetish names. Those things getting banned didn’t bother Justin at all since the thought of almost all them didn’t turn him on whatsoever. But bending Brian over his knee...well.

 

That does.

 

He doesn’t want to hurt Brian. He wouldn’t hit him hard enough to leave more than redness behind and in a sexual setting it would be lighter than if he did it for discipline purposes. He also thinks it might give Brian a release since he tends to take too much on and bottle his emotions up. It could be a good way to get him to let go for a while.

 

But Brian obeyed him. So he takes off the blindfold and praises him for doing so well. Brian looks relieved to have Justin touching him but hasn’t spoken so Justin hugs Brian’s head to his chest and gets the man feeling more normal before he lays Brian on his back and pulls out the plug.

 

Justin briefly takes off his cock ring to put on a condom then lets himself sink into Brian’s hole. He goes a little easier on him than he was originally planning to but Brian seems to be VERY satisfied with the pace. Brian rolls his hips downwards to meet his thrusts as he looks up at Justin with blown pupils. Justin keeps the eye contact and laces a hand with his as he gradually increases his speed. They go at it for a while, changing positions every so often. He takes Brian on his knees again to fuck him doggie style. He has Brian lie on top of him and then turn around to ride him. When he’s ready for both of them to come, he flips Brian back over on his back, takes their rings off, and really lets him really have it before they both come.

 

When they both come down from their high, panting from exertion, Brian speaks first.

 

“That was...that was good,” Brian admits as he looks over towards Justin, “My ass will be sore for days but it was worth it.”

 

“Not too sore though?”

 

“I’m good. Shit, what time is it?”

 

“4 am.”

 

“We fucked for an hour and a half? Not bad.”

 

“More like a little over an hour. We had less than ten minutes of foreplay and then twenty minutes for your warning.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

“How was that, by the way?”

 

“The foreplay?” Brian asks, being purposely obtuse.

 

“Your warning. Too much?”

 

“No. Not too much.”

 

He knows he won’t get much else out of Brian. But the fact that he said it wasn’t too much is enough for now. It lets Justin know that he was into it.

 

“Good. We really do need to sit down and talk out what is and what isn’t okay though. In detail. Not just the random kinks you throw out and ban when you start thinking too hard about the bond. We both need to have a rough idea of what we want out of this.”

 

Brian sighs, “Whatever happened to spontaneity?”

 

“I’m not saying we can’t be spontaneous but I don’t ever want to push you too far. There’s a chance it could happen anyway. That’s why it’s important that you use your safeword.”

 

“I’m thinking about changing that. I still want to be turned on, even whenever I feel like you might be pushing me too far. ‘Muncher’ just takes the wind out of my sails.”

 

Justin laughs, “Well, think of something and let me know.”

 

“Red and Yellow are fine.”

 

“Aren’t those standard though? And here I thought you were an innovative and creative mastermind, Mr. Kinney.”

 

Brian snorts, “Shut up, Justin.”

 

But Justin clears his throat, “We also need to talk about how it will affect other aspects of our lives.”

 

“What is there to life besides sex?” Brian asks sarcastically.

 

“I’m serious, Brian.”

 

Brian sighs, “I can’t act like a bottom boy 24/7, Justin. You know that.”

 

“I never asked you to,” Justin points out, “But you have always been one to want to stay in control. Now that you are having other urges, I need to know what those are.”

 

Brian says nothing so Justin continues.

 

“I want you to stay in control at work and act like your old self with friends. They don’t need to know about this shift until you are more comfortable with it. Even then, it technically isn’t their business. Things can be normal at home for the most part. But I want you to lean on me more. I want you to let me know when you need something emotionally or physically. I also want you to trust me when I take certain measures when it comes to your emotional, physical, and psychological well-being. The only time outside of that and the bedroom I would need you to be submissive would be if we encountered another vampire.”

 

“Justin, you barely know any other vampires. How do you know that you’ll need that?”

 

Justin shrugs, “I just do. You’re desirable, Brian. If they think they could make you submit better, they might try to take you.”

 

Brian raises an eyebrow, “This is some weird possessive supernatural thing, isn’t it? No way you could know that if it wasn’t.”

 

“It probably is. So?”

 

“So we can talk about it more tomorrow,” Brian answers simply then closes his eyes.

 

Justin reaches out and holds Brian. He presses his cheek into the man’s shoulder and feels a strong wave of affection flow through him. 

 

“I love you, Brian,” he whispers, kissing the man’s bicep.

 

“I know,” Brian mumbles.

 

Justin huffs out a laugh but he’s so glad that Brian knows that he really really does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read and review if you can! Let me know what you think and what you'd like to see! I can't promise to fit things in there but I do take the reader's opinion into consideration when it comes to where I take certain stories.


	13. Homecoming Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brian and Justin start informing their friends that they're home.

Brian set his alarm at 8 am in the event that he would actually be up for going to the office. When it went off, he realized that driving all the way across the country in five days is really exhausting, having his boyfriend fuck the shit out of him for over an hour really wore him out, and, even though he should go in since it is monday and he’s in Pittsburgh, he wants to take it easy today. It’s his first day back. His friends and family expected him to be gone longer. Besides, he owns Kinnetik. He’d call in and check how everything was going then would go back tomorrow. 

 

So he turns the alarm off to get some more rest but is stopped from doing that when he sees Justin isn’t there.

 

“Justin?” he grumbles.

 

“In here,” Justin calls out from the living room.

 

Brian forces himself to wake up a little and walks down the steps. Justin’s standing in front of the windows, the sun shining in on his face. His hair glistens in the sun and he looks the most peaceful Brian has seen him in the last few days. 

 

Silently, Brian comes up behind him and puts his arms around Justin’s waist. He kisses him softly on the cheek once, then again. Justin sighs and covers his hands with his own.

 

“I’ve missed this,” Justin admits, leaning back into Brian’s arms, “The loft. Pittsburgh. But the sun...I never thought it would be so relieving to see it, even if it is behind protective glass.”

 

“Soon, Justin. You’ll get to go back in it soon,” Brian tells him. 

 

“I’m just afraid something terrible will happen. We’ve been having the shittiest luck, some of it just by chance,” Justin admits then tenses.

 

Brian frowns, “You getting turned against your will was pretty fucking shitty. But you’re alive. That is what matters to me. And things have gone smoothly since Colorado. We never even ran out of gas.”

 

Justin pauses, “You’re right. I guess I was just feeling sorry for myself.”

 

“And how long have you been up feeling sorry for yourself?” Brian inquires.

 

“I wanted to see the sun rise,” Justin defends himself.

 

“Have you been to bed?” Brian asks, wanting a truthful answer.

 

“...Not really. I wanted to see if the windows worked.”

 

Brian turns him around and puts his hands on his cheeks, “Go to bed and get some rest. You didn’t sleep in the car yesterday and I know you have to be tired.”

 

“You coming back to bed with me?”

 

Brian yawns, “I was planning to go back to bed but now that I’m up, I may go into work instead. Just for a little bit to see how things are going and if Cynthia scheduled any important meetings today. I can take the rental then have Ted drive me back home after I check it in downtown and run a few errands.”

 

“Alright. Call me when you get there,” Justin frets, “Call. Don’t text.”

 

“Yes, dear,” Brian smirks then remembers something, “Speaking of which, I need to get us new cell phones and numbers. The temporary ones are fine for right now but I’m paying for a plan so I want to straighten that out by the end of the week. We also need to unfreeze your bank accounts and credit card as well as get you new numbers for your cards.”

 

Justin nods then says, “I’ll call Visa today and get that taken care of. My bank accounts will have to wait until after I get the ring though. The banks close around sunset and they’ll probably need to see me in person.”

 

“That’s true for your personal account but I have access to open your account that’s attached to mine. I should be able to run in today and have it opened back up. I can put some extra cash in there until everything with your personal account is settled and you're working again."

 

“I’m still not going to use the money you put in there. I’ve told you that before,” Justin tells him, arms crossed.

 

Brian glares, “I don’t see why not. I have the money and it can make things a little easier for you.”

 

“Brian-”

 

“They’ll even print a debit card for me there on the spot for you to use.”

 

Justin glares and tries to interrupt but Brian holds up a hand, “I’m letting you take control and take care of me, even though it was originally in my nature to deny that. I need to do something that takes care of you.”

 

Justin looks at him for several seconds before giving in.

 

“Alright, fine. I’ll use it until I get my personal account in order and start getting hours at the diner again.”

 

Brian nods and kisses him, “Love you.”

 

Justin glows at that and it’s like their little tiff never happened.

 

“Get that grin off your face. If you want a drink before I leave then you can take a shower with me before I get dressed and go,” Brian smirks as he walks to the bathroom.

 

Justin follows and they stand under the shower head together, kissing and caressing and sucking. Justin lifts Brian’s wrist and gently sinks his teeth in and Brian closes his eyes as the hot spray rinses his hair. He keeps his eyes closed as he feels Justin’s wrist touch his lips. He starts to suck and doesn’t feel sick like he did yesterday. Maybe that had just been a one time thing. He waits until he’s pretty sure the remaining blood is washed down the drain before he opens his eyes, just in case.

 

Even though he plans on leaving Kinnetik around lunch time, he puts on one of his nicer suits and tries to look as presentable as possible. He’s afraid that the stress and the changes that occurred in the last several days might end up throwing him off his game a little. He always felt a little better if he was feeling attractive and looked professional so putting on one of his grey Hugo Boss suits for his first day back might work in his favor. 

 

He takes the rental to work and walks into Kinnetik. Some of the junior executives are happy to see him. Half the art department is as well. The interns tremble in their seats which he doesn’t get. He yells at them to keep them in line but he is one of the few employers in Pittsburgh who actually pays his interns an hourly wage and a transportation stipend. 

 

But none of them are more thrilled to see him than Cynthia.

 

“Brian!” Cynthia exclaims, “So great of you to finish your ‘dropped of the face of the earth routine.’ Do you realize how many damn times I called you? Leo Brown is pissed that you haven’t gotten in touch with him.”

 

Brian just shrugs, “Phone’s turned off. I’ll be getting a new number later this week. I’ll text you it. “

 

“That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?”

 

“Yeah, Cynthia. That’s all I’m going to say. I’ll call Brown and let him know I’m back in the office.”

 

“Wait.”

 

Cynthia walks up to him, heels clicking lightly against the floor. Then, out of nowhere, she puts her arms around his neck and gives him a hug.

 

“Are you alright? Is Justin alright?”

 

Brian doesn’t know how to explain it so he just chokes out, “We’re okay. We’re home.”

 

“You don’t sound okay. You sound worried and exhausted.”

 

“It’s nothing. It’s just been a hard week,” he admits as he pulls away from her embrace.

 

“What happened to Justin? You were freaking out when you came into the office to get his picture.”

 

“Someone abducted him.”

 

“What? Have you-” Cynthia gasps but Brian interrupts.

 

“I can’t talk about it right now, Cynthia. We just want to put it behind us and move on. Can you send Ted back when he gets here?”

 

Cynthia nods, “Of course. Let me know if you need anything else.”

 

Brian walks back to his office and sits down at his desk.

 

“ _Leo Brown_ ,” Brian thinks, reminding himself of who he needs to call first.

 

He picks up his phone and dials his client’s number. He likes Brown. Leo had signed on with him not long after he started Kinnetik, complaining that Gardner’s vision was shit and he trusted him with his future ad campaigns. However, the man was never a fan of waiting. So he needs to prepare himself to schmooze.

 

“Brown,” Leo barks out.

 

“Leo, it’s Brian Kinney. I hear you’ve been trying to reach me.”

 

“Damn right I have, Kinney. I’ve called your office and your cell. Your secretary said you were away until further notice and your cell went straight to voicemail. I don’t like that.”

 

“I hate that I kept you waiting. I really do. But I had a family emergency and no one could reach me,” Brian tells him honestly. Ted walks into his office at this time so Brian silently gestures for him to sit down.

 

“Well, you should try turning your cell phone on.”

 

“It involved my partner. It was quite a serious matter and I needed to devote my attention to it. So, while I apologize that it inconvenienced you, I had to put him first.”

 

Leo grumbles and makes a few remarks but accepts Brian’s apology.

 

“Look, I get it. But I need to meet with you personally to talk about the Super Bowl campaign. I want to tighten the schedule on filming and get some big names cast in the ads. I like your ideas and the boards but I want to get started now so that we’re on the ball.”

 

“I understand. I can meet you any time this week but Wednesday morning.”

 

“I can be there Thursday morning around 10 am. How’s that?”

 

“I’ll see you then.”

 

Brian hangs up from the phone call and looks at Ted.

 

“I wanted to let you know that Justin and I are back and that we thank you for sending us money.”

 

“It’s no problem. I’m glad you’re back. We were all so worried. Where’s Justin?”

 

“Back at the loft.”

 

Ted nods, “Does any of the gang know you’re back yet?”

 

Brian shakes his head, “No. I don’t think Justin’s ready to see them yet. If they do come over, I want it to be later and one at a time.”

 

“Yeah, they can be overwhelming when they gather.”

 

Ted studies him and Brian looks away.

 

“You seem different.”

 

Brian snorts, “Different how?”

 

“I don’t know. Just different. You okay?”

 

Brian feels a strange urge to tell Ted everything, from the vampirism to the bond to the nightmares and even his strange and foreign new love of bottoming. He told himself he wouldn't discuss any of that shit. At least for a while. However, a small part of him really just wants to unload on someone and get some advice. But he won’t because it would only be a matter of time before word traveled that Brian Kinney was now a bottom and also a complete nut. 

 

“Given the circumstances, I guess.”

 

“And Justin? You said that he was hurt by the people that took him.”

 

Brian stays silent for a minute then says, “He’s trying. I think he’s trying to get his mind off of it.”

 

“I told Carl that he went on a drug binge like you told me to. He called the LAPD and got them to drop the case and that you checked him into a rehab out of state. Debbie overheard, called Jennifer, and they were both freaking out. After I explained that it wasn’t the case, they all bitched at me. But they know that I’ve been in contact with you. You should call them soon or, better yet, Justin should call them.”

 

Brian waves his hand, “I’ll get you off the hook. I’ll have Justin invite his mother over later so she can see that her son is safe.”

 

Ted nods uncertainly and there’s a beat of silence until Ted breaks it.

 

“Brian, what the fuck happened?” Ted asks, concerned.

 

Brian hesitates but knows he has to come up with something.

 

“A lot. A lot happened. It’s been a rough week,” Brian admits, “You’ll probably find out. Justin and I have to talk about what we’re going to say. Figure out a way of letting people know without it spreading through town. I’ll let you know when he’s ready.”

 

“...Alright, boss. I’m here if you need me.”

 

“Actually,” Brian prompts, “I do need you. There aren’t any meetings really going on today. I need to make some calls and check some boards. But after that, would you be willing to drive with me to Enterprise? I rented a car in Nevada and drove it back here so I need to return it to the office downtown. I’ll need a ride after though. If it isn’t too much trouble, maybe we can get lunch somewhere then I can stop at the bank and get some groceries to take back to the loft after that. I didn’t know how long I would be gone so I cleaned out my fridge. I’ll pay you for the time and gas but I want to get as much as I can done while I’m out so I can get back to Justin.”

 

Ted raises an eyebrow, “You aren’t paying me to help you run a few errands. We’re friends. Of course I’ll do it, Bri.”

 

“Thanks. I’ll come get you when I’m finished with what I need to do here.”

 

“I’ll be in my office. And Brian?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I really am relieved that you and Justin are back home. I was very worried about you both. It’s good to know that you’re safe.”

 

Brian doesn’t know what to say to that so he just clears his throat and says, “We’re glad we’re back too.”

 

Ted goes back to his office and Brian gets what he needs to done. He makes some calls to clients to discuss future advertisements as well as calls to potential clients and sets up a few meetings next week and the week after. He goes and yells at the group in the art department who covered the newest Remson boards and praises the employees who covered the American Eagle boards while he was gone. After he makes some changes of his own to the Remson boards and makes himself physical copies of the tragic mistakes to take home with him, he fetches Ted and heads out the door. 

 

Ted drives behind him to Enterprise and waits in the office while Brian returns the car. It doesn’t take as long as Brian expects it to so he goes ahead and has Ted take him to the bank to straighten everything out with his and Justin’s accounts. That takes longer, due to the questions and standard security measures but soon enough they are printing Justin off another card and unfreezing their accounts.

 

“Ready for lunch?” Brian asks as they step back outside.

 

“Yeah, I’m starving. Where do you want to go?” Ted asks.

 

“Anywhere’s fine. You pick.”

 

Ted picks a Polish restaurant in the strip district that is just a couple steps above being a hole in the wall. It has a convenience store attached, stocked with Polish goods as well as a television playing in the corner of the restaurant. While it’s not Brian’s style, he will admit that their food is as good as Ted says it is. 

 

He appreciates Ted not asking too many questions about the last week. Rather than doing that, he fills Brian in on their friends’ lives instead. Of course he hears how frantic they all were but at least Ted isn’t scolding him. 

 

And it’s nice. It’s nice to be back just eating lunch with a friend. He’s back in Pittsburgh and it really hits him that he loves it here. He loves his makeshift family, his son, his partner, his loft, his job. He loves Babylon and the restaurants and the fact that he knows his way around by heart. No, it isn’t New York. But it’s home. And he doesn’t think he really appreciated that until now. 

 

So Brian gets lost in his thoughts, grateful that he’s in this restaurant/convenience store combo with Ted Schmidt and he stays lost in them until a news panel on CNN interrupts his thought process with a little boy’s photo.

 

Fuck. 

 

_...Crime scene photos show evidence that this is one of the most gruesome murders in the state’s history, if not the most gruesome. Eleven people senselessly butchered and killed, including two of the cult’s members. However, the most tragic and senseless deaths to me personally are the murders of four year old Declan Whittemore and his 27 year old mother Nora Whittemore. Police found Declan’s body in the hallway by their assigned room and his severed head further down the hall. They believe that Nora was seriously injured then forced to watch her son die before being killed herself. This is just awful, Jim.”_

 

_”It really is, Nancy. This is such an awful tragedy that has shaken Kansas down to its core.”_

 

Brian feels himself shaking and he can’t breathe. Fuck, all he can think about is blood on the walls and that dead four year old. What the fuck is going on with him? Why is he reacting this way? He needs to calm down but he can’t. He can’t bring himself back to Earth and he’s completely lost. He needs to breathe. Damn it, breathe!

 

“Brian? Are you alright? Hey! Answer me if you can. Do I need to call an ambulance? Fuck, someone call an ambulance!” Ted’s voice breaks through.

 

Brian can finally see what’s going on around him and he really doesn’t like it. He isn’t in his chair for one thing. He must have loosened his tie and and gotten up only to slide down the closest wall.

 

“I’m fine,” Brian whispers, not trusting his voice, “Don’t call an ambulance.”

 

“You were so pale. You looked like saw a ghost. Then you stumbled away and fell down. You were breathing like you were in pain. You still are a little bit and now you are all flushed. It could be your heart or something.”

 

“It’s not! Now please, let’s just go,” Brian pleads.

 

He’s so fucking embarrassed that he doesn’t even want Ted’s help back up but images start popping up in his head and he starts to feel sick so he has no choice but to accept the assistance. He pointedly ignores the stares and starts to get out his wallet with trembling hands but Ted stops him and puts money down on the table.

 

“It’s my treat. Let’s get to the car, alright?”

 

Brian nods. He wants Justin. He needs to be with Justin.

 

Ted helps him into the car and Brian lays his head back against the headrest. As though Ted can read his mind, he says, “I’m taking you back to the loft. I know you said you need groceries but you aren’t in any shape to get them right now. I’ll walk you up and you and Justin can make me a list of what you need. I still think you should see a doctor.”

 

“I’m fine,” Brian mutters. 

 

He feels his pocket vibrating and looks to find that there are missed texts and two missed calls from Justin. Shit. He must have sensed something was going on. Fucking bond.

 

**I’m fine.**   
**Ted’s taking me back to the loft**

 

That should be good enough for him. It’ll keep him from pulling his hair out.

 

But then Ted’s phone starts ringing. Fuck.

 

“Hello?...Justin?...Yeah, he’s right here...Calm down. He’s okay, I think...I don’t know what was wrong. He says he’s fine and stopped me from calling the ambulance...Yeah, I’m bringing him back now...No problem. See you soon.”

 

Ted hangs up and looks at Brian, “That was your boyfriend. He was freaking out and thought you were hurt. Did you text him and tell him what happened?”

 

“No.”

 

Ted tilts his head in confusion, “Then how did he know something was wrong? Is he psychic all of the sudden?”

 

“You aren’t that far off the mark,” Brian answers cryptically.

 

“...Okay,” Ted answers, probably a little weirded out.

 

Ted starts the engine and drives him back to the loft. Ted insists on walking up with him instead of waiting down in his car for Brian to bring back a grocery list.

 

Brian opens the loft door and Justin rushes over to embrace him. Brian all but forgets Ted is there and lets his head rest on Justin’s shoulder. He doesn’t become all weepy like he was yesterday but he lets his weight fall onto his partner. He just needs to for a few minutes. Then he’ll be fine. 

 

“What happened?” Justin asks him quietly.

 

Brian doesn’t answer. How can he when he doesn’t even know himself?

 

“Go lie down and wait for me. I want to talk to Ted.”

 

Brian lifts his head to glance at Justin but one look from Justin and he knows he won’t be arguing with him.

 

“Go on.”

 

Brian walks to the bedroom, strips down to his underwear and hangs up his suit.

 

He can hear Ted and Justin talking lowly in the kitchen but doesn’t hear exactly what they say. Maybe he’s getting old and his hearing isn’t what it used to be. Maybe he just doesn’t want to hear it. They don’t talk for that long. Soon Ted’s out the door and Justin is coming to the bedroom to sit down next to him.

 

“Ted’s worried about you. He thought you were having a heart attack.”

 

“I didn’t have a heart attack,” Brian mumbles.

 

“I know. I think Ted realizes that now too. I could feel you panicking and getting really upset. It didn’t feel like you were about to die.”

 

“Could have fooled me.”

 

“Do you know what caused it?”

 

“Caused what?”

 

Justin sighs, “Your panic attack or flashback. Whatever happened.”

 

“No,” Brian tells him. And he’s sort of telling the truth. He might know what triggered it but he doesn’t know why.

 

“You’re lying. I can tell. Your heart started beating faster.”

 

“Damn it, Justin! When will you learn to fuck off?!”

 

Justin stays silent then gets up to take a step back.

 

“Ted will be back with the groceries soon,” Justin tells him stiffly, “Feel free to take a nap. I’ll go in the other room.”

 

He hears Justin walk away and Brian’s pride keeps him from saying anything. God damn it.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Brian’s breathing never evens out so Justin knows he isn’t asleep. Justin wants to make him open up. If it were under any other circumstances, he just might do that. But he doesn’t have the right when it comes to this.

 

Justin knows he’s going to have to return Brian’s memories to him or at least tell him what he did. He could feel Brian’s confusion coming off of him in waves. Justin’s sure that Brian not knowing why he’s having nightmares, flashbacks to memories he thinks don’t exist, and getting emotional over a news story he thinks he’s not connected to is getting to him. He was going to wait it out and see if things got better but he can’t let things fester. It might get worse and bring Brian to a point of no return.

 

Justin is brought out of his contemplation by a knock on the door and knows it’s Ted with the groceries. He accepts them, assures Ted that he’ll make the calls to the rest of the gang later today, and gives him an unexpected hug for taking care of Brian and bringing him home. Then he closes the door, puts away the groceries, and prepares himself for what he needs to say.

 

“Brian?” Justin prompts as he comes over to the bed.

 

Brian raises his head to look up at him only to lower his eyes again.

 

“Listen...I’m sorry I lost my temper with you. I know you are just trying to help and I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”

 

Justin sits down next to him and lets Brian put his head in his lap. He strokes his hair and lets Brian relax.

 

“It’s alright. Although, even now, it’s strange hearing you apologize for something like that.”

 

Brian shrugs, “I felt like I needed to. I shouldn’t speak to you like that especially when you were just trying to take care of me.”

 

Justin doesn’t know if what Brian’s saying is brought on by the bond or just by the week bringing them so much closer but he does know that if Brian is going to be showing humility as well as recognizing that he shouldn’t speak to partner like that, then he needs to be honest with the man.

 

“I haven’t been perfect either,” Justin admits.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Brian...I know what’s been causing you to be so upset. I know you know too but you don’t know why. That’s because of me.”

 

Brian stays silent so Justin hesitantly continues.

 

“You witnessed a horrific and traumatic event. I witnessed some of it too but I wasn’t there for as much of it. But you were so strong through it. You saved a girl and helped me until we got to the car. After we got out of there, you were...you were catatonic, Brian. You wouldn’t speak. You barely blinked. You were completely out of reach. It scared me so much. I checked us into that Super 8 and went to get our things from the car. I came back and I could hear you throwing up and crying in the bathroom. I begged you to let me in but I don’t think you were able to compute it. You came out looking so devastated and still so far away. I wanted to take away your pain so badly.”

 

Brian is tense as Justin is telling him this but keeps his head in Justin’s lap so he goes on.

 

“I remembered when you took me to the parking garage and I said, ‘I wish I could remember.’ You had told me, ‘I wish I could forget.’ I shouldn’t have done it but I made you look at me and remember the day we had differently. Then I held you as you went to sleep as tight as I could. I was so scared to let go. I almost lost you the other day and you were so upset and frightened after witnessing what you did. I felt like, even though I pushed the memories out of your head, I still had to be there for you. When you had nightmares that night and I found you crying about the news announcement about that little boy, I knew some part of you still remembered. The sight of that place was horrifying but I think it was his and his mother’s death that really got to you.”

 

“So the little boy-” Brian says but breaks off.

 

“You had spoken with him and his mother at breakfast. You told me you enjoyed talking to him and that he reminded you of Gus.”

 

Brian’s practically vibrating at this point, he’s shaking so hard. Justin bends his torso a little to hold him tighter.

 

“What gave you-...You had no right…-He was a kid…” Brian chokes out.

 

“I know. I’m so sorry.”

 

“Who would fucking do that? Were they after us? Are those people dead because of us? Were their killers like you?” Brian asks mournfully, muffled by Justin’s lap. And fuck, that really hurts.

 

“No. They were human. It was a freakishly unlucky coincidence that we stayed there. They had nothing to do with Zachariah.”

 

“Fuck…”

 

Brian wraps his arms around Justin’s torso and forces himself to calm down a little. Justin presses kisses on the top of his head and holds him through learning what had happened.

 

“Why are you telling me this now?” Brian asks, voice strangely calm.

 

“You’ve been suffering. I erased the memories but I can’t erase any trauma or your feelings. You seemed so confused about everything. Plus, since I’m bonded to you, compelling you doesn’t work as well. I’m sorry, Brian. I was just trying to stop you from hurting,” Justin says helplessly.

 

Brian lifts his head up and for a second Justin thinks he’s going to walk out. Out of the room, out of his life, leaving him alone in this new hell he’s in. But then Brian reaches out to hold his face and kisses him.

 

“I get why you did it. If the situation were reversed, I would probably do the same if I thought that it meant it would help you.”

 

“I’m glad you understand-”

 

“But that doesn’t mean I want you doing it again.”

 

Brian stares at him with a wet glare.

 

“Do you want me to give the memories back to you?”

 

Brian freezes on the spot then clears his throat and looks down.

 

“I don’t know if I can handle them, Sunshine. A couple of flashes came back to me when you were talking about it and I felt sick. I could barely deal with it when I didn’t know we had been there.”

 

“That was my fault, Brian. You were suffering from severe trauma and you couldn’t sort through it since you didn’t know what was going on. That was a mistake. It might be hard and it might make you feel worse for a while, but it could be for the best so that you can move on.”

 

But Brian shakes his head, “I can’t. Not now.”

 

Justin lets out a sigh, “Maybe now that you know the reason why, you’ll be able to work through it a little better. I’ll make a deal with you.”

 

“What kind of deal?”

 

“I’ll give you two weeks. If things don’t start improving then I want you to take back your memories so that we can face this together. I expect you to be open with me about it and let me take care of you when you need it. If you aren’t open when something is bothering you or start withdrawing, we will figure out a way to get you to the point of emotional release. ”

 

Brian frowns, “Two weeks isn’t a very long time.”

 

“I know. But I’m afraid I might truly fuck you up if I let it go on too long. I realize that I started this by compelling you but you won’t fight me on this.”

 

Brian nods and leans his head on Justin’s shoulder.

 

“You should call your mom,” Brian says suddenly.

 

Justin winces. He knows he should. She has to be freaking out over the last week.

 

“You just learned something horrific. She’ll want to come over. You sure you are in the mood for company?”

 

Brian shrugs, “Maybe it will get my mind off of it.”

 

“Alright. I’ll invite her over for dinner.”

 

“Oh joy. A meal with Mother Taylor,” Brian says sarcastically, already trying to put the revelation behind him.

 

“Shut up. I know you care about each other. Which is weird, now that I think about it.”

 

“Hmm. Are you going to tell her?”

 

Justin lets out a sigh then gets up, “I don’t know, Brian. I don’t want to scare her. She’ll be heartbroken. She’ll be overwhelmed enough knowing that I’m back after being missing. She’ll be pissed over us having Ted lie to Carl. I’ll let her know that we’ll need to sit down one day and tell her everything but for now, let her be happy that her son is back.”

 

Brian nods, “Okay. Whatever you want to do.”

 

“I’ll go call her.”

 

“Justin goes to the desk to get the cordless phone and returns to the bedroom to sit next to Brian. Brian stays next to him loyally and Justin forces himself to dial his mother’s number. 

 

“Hello? Brian, is that you?” his mother exclaims. From the tone of her voice, he can just imagine how she’s felt the last few days and immediately feels awful.

 

“Mom, it’s me.”

 

“Justin? O-Oh baby,” his mother starts to cry, “Please tell me you’re okay.”

 

“I’m...I’m okay,” Justin tells her. Because what else is he supposed to say, really?

 

“What happened to you? Ted said you were involved in drugs but then he didn’t but why would he lie about that and why would you and Brian tell him to say that-”

 

“Mom! Mom, it’s a long story. I don’t want to get into it right now. Why don’t you come over for dinner?”

 

“Yes, I’ll do that. I have your sister but I can see if your dad can take her for the evening so we can talk. He’ll be relieved that you are alright too.”

 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Justin scoffs.

 

“Justin, he may not be the father you thought he was, he’s not the man I thought he was that’s for sure, but there is some part of him that still loves you. He was very worried when I told him that you disappeared in L.A.”

 

Justin clears his throat, “Well, he’ll get over it now that I’m back and he finds out the gay wasn’t brainwashed out of me.”

 

His mother sighs, “What time can I come over?”

 

“Can you be here around 6?”

 

“Yes. Oh, Justin. I was-”

 

“I know, Mom. I know.”

 

His mom sniffles and tells him she’ll see him soon and that she loves him. Justin says his goodbyes and looks to Brian.

 

“Want to go domestic and make dinner for us?” Justin asks hopefully.

 

Brian snorts, “In your dreams, Sunshine.”

 

Justin sticks out his tongue and goes to look at what he can make. He decides on a chicken stir fry over brown rice. Brian does cut up the vegetables for him, which is nice. He figures Brian wants to do something rather than just sit there after learning about the memories Justin had blocked. 

 

Soon enough, his mother is outside ringing the intercom. Brian buzzes her up and Jennifer more or less barges in and goes straight for her son.

 

“Honey,” Jennifer cries.

 

“It’s okay, Mom,” Justin tells her as he pats her back.

 

“No, it’s not. You were missing and you weren’t picking up your phone! I want you to tell me what happened right now! And you!” Jennifer says as she turns to point at Brian, “Why didn’t you call me? You called me when you were so afraid something happened to him and you called me when you landed in California. Why wouldn’t you call me to tell me you found my son?”

 

Brian looks ashamed so Justin quickly jumps in to defend him, “Mom, it’s not Brian’s fault. We had a very hard trip back. We were focused on surviving and not being easily traced.”

 

“But why? You said it wasn’t drugs but you are making it sound like someone was after you-”

 

“There was. They took me. I thought they were going to kill me. But I got away and Brian found me.”

 

Jennifer’s expression turns to cold steel, “Tell me who they are. Tell me who took you. I want them put away for hurting my son. I want them-”

 

“They won’t go to jail, mom. They hold high positions of power. It would be useless,” Justin confesses.

 

“Would they come after you and hurt you? Brian, he needs protection. You both do.”

 

“I don’t know. They might come. But right now we are focusing on the fact that we made it home. We are talking to people about how to protect ourselves if they decide to come after us.”

 

Jennifer shakes her head, “You should be talking to the FBI.”

 

“...They aren’t ideal to take on these people,” Justin tells her uneasily.

 

“Not _ideal_?” Jennifer asks then walks over to Brian, “Why haven’t you talked to him about this? He shouldn’t be scared to turn these monsters in.”

 

“Jennifer-”

 

“No! You promised me that you would take care of him!”

 

“Mom!” Justin snaps, “Don’t you dare talk to him like that. You don’t know what he’s been through and what he has done for me these last few days. If it weren’t for him, I would be dead.”

 

Jennifer pales at the harsh words and Brian looks surprised by them as well. He knows his mother doesn’t know what Brian went through when it came to Justin’s initial refusal to turn. She didn’t even know a fraction of the story. But to hear her talk to Brian like that had pissed him off, even though it had been driven by emotion and hadn’t been insulting.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m very sorry, Brian. I’ve just been at my wit’s end worrying about him. I’ve been worrying about both of you.”

 

Brian’s shocked when Jennifer puts her arms around him. He pats her on the back and looks at Justin questionly. Justin just shrugs and tries to change the subject.

 

“Mom, dinner's almost ready if you want to help Brian set the table.”

 

His mother lets go of Brian and nods then helps her pseudo son-in-law.

 

Dinner is surprisingly calm, despite his mother’s initial reaction to seeing him again. She does try to hint that she wants to know what’s going on but Brian finally saves him by saying, “Justin just needs some time before he talks about it. You’ll know soon enough.”

 

“What about Debbie? Have you told her that you’re both back?”

 

Brian shakes his head, “We got back in the middle of the night. The only people who know other than you are Cynthia and Ted.”

 

“You should call her, Brian. And Justin, please call Daphne. She’s been so upset that she’s missed some classes this week.”

 

“Fuck,” Justin says, ignoring his mother’s subtle look of disapproval, “Yeah, I’ll call her tonight.”

 

Jennifer nods then says, “Dinner’s good.”

 

“I got the recipe from the best chef I know,” Justin beams.

 

“Yours is a bit spicier than mine though. I like it.”

 

“Yeah, Brian likes spicier foods so I added a little extra to get him to eat more.”

 

“I’ll just work it off tomorrow,” Brian shrugs.

 

“Oh, right. You are going to live at the gym now. I forgot.”

 

“I’ve gained two pounds in the last week, Justin. I just checked this morning,” Brian pouts.

 

Justin rolls his eyes and offers his mother dessert. Brian declines but ends up taking a bite off his plate anyway.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Maybe we can get lunch tomorrow,” his mom suggests as she puts her coat back on.

 

“I can’t. I’ll be busy. I can go out Thursday though.”

 

Jennifer tilts her head but nods and gives him one last hug before she goes.

 

“I love you. I’m so glad you are okay. And, when you’re ready, I want you to tell me what happened.”

 

“Alright, Mom. I’ll try.”

 

Jennifer walks out the door. Brian shuts it behind her and starts to stare at Justin.

 

“What?”

 

“Who’s going to call Debbie?”

 

Justin groans, “Do we have to call her now?”

 

Brian raises a brow, “You know how close she and your mom have become. It’s only a matter of time until she finds out.”

 

Justin shakes his head, “I called my mom. _You_ can call Debbie.”

 

“Why can’t you call her?” Brian glares.

 

“I have to call Daphne.”

 

“If I call Debbie, then you are calling Michael.”

 

“He’s your best friend, Brian. He’ll want to hear from you. I’ll call Emmett and Mel and you can call Michael and Lindsay.”

 

Brian groans, “You gave me the worst ones!”

 

“Brian, it’s your best friend and the mother of your child.”

 

“That doesn’t make them any better. Why can’t I call Mel and Emmett?”

 

Justin smirks, “Do you really want to deal with Emmett blubbering on the phone and Mel actually trying to be nice to you due to extreme circumstances?”

 

Brian stops to think, “Good point.”

 

And so, with great apprehension, they flip a coin to pick who will make the first call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read and review to let me know what you think!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brian and Justin call their friends to let them know that they are home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Not too much happens in this chapter but there will be violence, blood, angst, and drama after the next couple of adjustment chapters.

“Hello? Brian?” Debbie’s anxious voice called out through the phone.

 

Brian looks over at Justin and glares. All Justin does is give him motion to continue. Dick.

 

“Hi, Ma. How’s it been?” Brian drawls out which results in a light slap on the arm from Sunshine and a meltdown from Debbie.

 

“How’s it been? _How’s it been?_ You asshole! We have all been worried sick! Whenever we called you, our calls would go straight to voicemail. All we knew was what Ted told Carl and he turned out to be lying to cover for you! Carl is pissed off! You know he’s a good cop and doesn’t like to bend the rules like that! But he’s worried over Justin as well so he’ll keep doing it but you better have a damn good reason as to why we don’t know what’s going on! Don’t you fucking care that the rest of us have feelings too?!”

 

He looks over to Justin for guidance but all Justin can do is shake with ridiculous rage. Protective little shit. Brian puts the phone down for a second and gets his partner’s attention.

 

“What do you want me to say?”

 

“Hang up on her,” Justin seethes, “I won’t let her talk that way to you.”

 

“Justin, bring your rationality back out for a second.”

 

Justin takes a few deep breaths and lets out a sigh. Both of them ignore the “Brian? Brian!” Said on the other line.

 

“Tell her that I’m back home and safe but I don’t want her coming over. Carl can come over tomorrow and I’ll talk to him but other than that I don’t want any of the gang to come see me until I give the okay.”

 

Brian nods, “Debbie? He’s not ready to see anyone in person just yet. But we got home early this morning and he’s okay.”

 

“What happened to him, Brian? Jesus Christ, we were scared he was dead in a ditch somewhere!”

 

“He...We’ll talk about it when he’s ready. Justin and I need to learn how to handle everything that has happened first.”

 

“He’s called Jennifer, right?”

 

“Yes. She came over for dinner a little bit ago. We called you first because we knew she would be telling you soon enough.”

 

“Oh Sunshine...Please, Brian. Does he need anything at all? I love you both like my sons. I’m sorry I was so hard on you just now but I was so scared that something had happened to you too and-”

 

“Debbie? We’re...we’re alive. That’s what matters. Ask Carl to come by tomorrow and Justin will tell him what went on that we can’t talk about.”

 

“Why can’t you talk about it? What happened to him that can’t be reported?”

 

“Debbie, please. I can’t say right now. They were just bad and powerful people. The police and the law aren’t a match for them.”

 

“Shit...I still think they could do something.”

 

“Just trust us on this one, alright?”

 

“Can I...Can I please speak to Justin? Just for a second?”

 

Brian sees Justin hesitantly nod so he hands the phone over to his lover and listens to his side of the conversation.

 

“Hi, Debbie....Don’t cry, I’m alright....I’m not on drugs, I promise….You don’t have to kill anyone. Although, I’m sure out of everyone they would be the most frightened of you….I am being serious. You can be really fucking terrifying when you want to be….Of course it’s a compliment….I should be ready to see people by next week…..I can’t talk about it so please don’t push me to….I know you do....I love you too….Bye.”

 

Justin hangs up the phone and sits down next to Brian. 

 

“Your turn,” Brian says to him.

 

“Fine,” Justin says, “I’ll call Daphne.”

 

The phone call with Daphne seems to go more smoothly, even though Brian can tell that she’s upset since she has Justin close to tears. Their phone call goes on a lot longer since the two are so chummy. Justin even goes off subject and talks about seeing a movie with Daphne sometime next week. He fucking loves Daphne. She brings Justin down to a more innocent level and seems to make him worry about things a lot less.

 

Brian decides to bite the bullet and call Michael next. Fuck his life.

 

“Brian?!” Michael yells out as soon as Brian speaks, “Fuck! Where have you been? Why haven’t you been picking up your phone?! I thought you and Justin were dead! Fuck you, Brian!”

 

“Michael?” Brian interrupts, “We’re not dead. But we have had an awfully hard trip. Shit happened and Justin could have died. He was taken by horrible people and was subjected to terrifying things. We were too busy picking up the pieces to call. I only called Ted because I needed extra cash. Justin doesn’t want to see anyone right now but I will stop by in a couple of days to see you and Ben. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

 

“It was past worrying. You fucking scared me. I thought I lost you.”

 

“It was a good possibility. But I’m alive. Justin’s alive. We’re home. That’s all that matters.”

 

“Okay. Okay. Brett called. He was concerned about Justin and wanted him to know that he still had a space on their team if we found him. Tell Justin to call him when he’s feeling better. That’s more important than Rage. Whatever he decides...it’s fine by me. I’m just glad he’s home.”

 

Brian feels his heart start pounding, “I’ll let him know. Thanks, Mikey.”

 

Brian hangs up and feels Justin’s hands massaging his shoulders.

 

“Talk to me.”

 

Brian lets out a sigh, “It’s your dream to work as an artist and I don’t want to keep you from it. But fuck, please don’t go back to L.A. Maybe New York would be better when you are ready to work on your career. Finn lives there and could help you out. He could make sure you don’t get hurt.”

 

Justin looks at him bewildered, before putting his arms around him.

 

“Do you really think I’m ever going to leave you again? We need each other. You are too important to me and the bond has enforced that even more. We would be miserable without each other. I have a need to protect you. I can’t do that from another state. I’ll work on my career here. It’ll be fine.”

 

“...Are you sure? I don’t want you giving up anything for me. I don’t deserve that.”

 

“Don’t talk like that. You deserve everything. Fuck, Brian. If anything I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you. You dropped everything to fly across the country and find me. You kept me alive and you’ve dedicated yourself to feeding me. You have accepted the bond and the weird role reversal that came with it. Even though I’m not happy about getting turned, I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have you. I love you so much it scares me.”

 

Brian looks away, a little embarrassed by the attention. He is overwhelmed by everything Justin has said but he’s so fucking happy that Justin wants to stay and it feels even better that someone in his life wants to put him first. It may be selfish but he never really had it growing up and the fact that the man he is in love with wants to stay here to take care of him means a lot.

 

“I want you here. I want to take care of you too. Even though you are stronger and faster than me, I want-”

 

“You do. You do take care of me. You always have and I know you always will.”

 

Brian gets rid of the emotions by rolling his eyes, “Enough with the sappy shit. Your turn to call someone. Emmett or Mel?”

 

“Ugh…” Justin groans, “Emmett. I think Mel will be more composed. Emmett will queen out so might as well get it over with.”

 

“Put it on speaker. Emmett’s queen outs are entertaining.”

 

Justin glares, “He’ll be queening out because he thought his friends were missing. You want to listen to him just because you want a laugh?”

 

Brian shrugs, “I won’t laugh out loud. Emmett just has a way of queening out and then showing ridiculous relief. It’s endearing.”

 

Justin smiles sweetly, “I knew you liked your friends.”

 

“Just call him.”

 

Justin dials Emmett’s number and puts the phone on speaker. It rings a couple times before Emmett picks up.

 

“Hello?” Emmett answers wearily. Shit, he has been freaking out. Brian always got annoyed with the greeting, “Emmett Honeycutt speaking! How may I help you?” but that is certainly better than this.

 

“Emmett? It’s Justin,” Justin answers softly.

 

“J-Justin? Justin! Oh, baby!” Emmett cries before dissolving into sobs.

 

“Emmett, it’s okay. I’m okay. Come on, don’t cry.”

 

“Are you alright? Is Brian alright? Oh my god, we thought something happened. I can’t I-I’m sorry-”

 

“Fuck, Honeycutt. Calm down. We’re both alright and back home.”

 

“Brian? I was so worried about you!”

 

“Yeah, well all is well,” Brian drawls. 

 

“It is not! You both disappeared off the face of the earth. You didn’t call Ted until two days had passed! Why would you fucking do that to us?!”

 

“It’s a long story. Bad people, bad-”

 

“Bullshit. I know you are both hiding something. You’re both freaked out, I can tell. But I’m not going to dwell on that now. I’m just so glad you are both alright.”

 

“Thanks, Emmett,” They both end up saying at the same time.

 

“That...That’s so cute. I can tell this experience has brought you closer together. I’m so glad you have each other.”

 

Brian groans, “Honeycutt, shut up.”

 

“I tell it as I see it. Now if either of you need anything, anything at all, let me know. I care about you both and want to help you-”

 

Emmett starts crying again and Brian takes the opportunity to end the call.

 

“Go calm down. We’re fine. Justin doesn’t want any company for the next few days so you and our dearest friends need to keep away. I’ll be over at Michael and Ben’s tomorrow probably so if you want to stop by their house while I’m there I suppose I’ll see you.”

 

Emmett snorts, “I feel so loved. Now baby, you get some rest and you talk to me if you need to talk, alright? I know you must have faced a lot this past week but don’t try to hold anything in. Talk to Brian and talk your friends who love you so much and were so scared-”

 

“Bye, Emmett,” Brian says pointedly before hanging up the phone.

 

“Well, that wasn’t nice,” Justin comments, “And you basically took over the conversation.”

 

“All so you can call Lindsay.”

 

But Justin shakes his head, “No. If it were Michael, I would do it. But I’m not calling Lindsay for you. She needs to hear from you.”

 

“I took over the conversation when it came to Emmett. You can call Lindsay.”

 

“No. She’s spent a week worrying about the father of her child. She has probably been devastated over the possibility that something happened to you. Gus might be catching on if she’s been upset. You need to talk to Lindsay and your son. Sorry.”

 

Brian glares but accepts that he has a good point and calls his friend.

 

It’s hard, hearing Lindsay like this. Crying over how she thought she may have to tell Gus that Justin and his daddy weren’t coming back. He is a little pissed because he was only off the radar for two days but he gets her point. Justin just disappeared and he went off to find him and did the same. The fact that he’s home really does hit him when he talks to Gus. Fuck.

 

“Daddy?”

 

“Hey, Sonny boy,” Brian greets him after taking a shaky breath.

 

“I miss you. Mommy missed you too. You coming to see me soon?”

 

“I’ll stop by tomorrow. I missed you a lot.”

 

“You find Jus?”

 

“Yep, I sure did.”

 

“Where was he hiding?”

 

Brian snorts, “He wasn’t hiding. He was just...lost.”

 

“Okay. Is Jus coming to see me tomorrow too?”

 

“Not...not tomorrow, Gus. He needs some time to rest. Maybe in a few days though.”

 

“‘Kay. I love you, Daddy.”

 

“You too, Sonny boy.”

 

Brian says his goodbyes to Lindsay before hanging up the phone and Justin takes it without a word to call Mel. The conversation with Mel is quick. Justin assures her that both he and Brian are fine like they have done with the rest of their friends. He also assures her that he will talk to her about legal advice when it comes to this situation if need be. Soon enough, Justin is off the phone and snuggles into Brian’s side.

 

“I don’t know how to break the real news to them. It will be easy enough to prove but I don’t know if they’ll accept me after they do find out.”

 

Brian looks down at him, “It’s your decision if you want to tell them or not. If you do and they don’t accept you then fuck them. They don’t need to be a part of our lives if that’s how they feel.”

 

“I already know I’m going to have to say something. If not now then six or seven years down the road when they see I haven’t changed a bit. I guess they don’t need to be a part of my life if they don’t accept me. But I won’t let you drop people because of me.”

 

Brian glares, “We’re together. I’m not going to spend time with people who don’t accept you, especially when the circumstances are out of your control. You didn’t ask for this. This isn’t your fault.”

 

Justin shrugs, “It’s still a reality though. I’m dangerous to be around. I wouldn’t blame them if they were afraid to be around me.”

 

“You did fine around your mom and me. You’re doing great.”

 

“Yeah, but that was just two people and I had you there. Who knows how I will act in a room full of people? Sunday dinner could be total hell. We usually have twelve people there, sometimes more if Emmett brings his man of the week or if my mom or Daphne tag along. I remember how I was like at the diner before I turned. I was daydreaming about ripping people’s throats out.”

 

“Yeah but that was because you had been denying yourself and were set on not turning. Your body went in survival mode because you were days away from starving yourself to death.”

 

“Still doesn’t mean I won’t be fighting my hunger around more than a few people.”

 

Brian lets out a sigh and brings Justin into his side.

 

“We’ll figure it out, alright? Finn will be here with his friend in less than two days. He’s getting you a ring and that’s a step in the right direction. He also said he would put us in touch with some people who can help us. It’s going to be okay.”

 

But Justin still looks troubled.

 

“Zachariah can probably figure out where I live. Figure out who you are to me. He might try to hurt you. He’s a lot stronger than me, Brian. I can’t have him hurt you. Maybe it would be for the best if I just left.”

 

Justin gets up but fuck that. Brian’s not letting him walk away. 

 

“Hey,” Brian says as he grabs Justin’s arm to turn him around, “Just a few seconds ago you said you would never leave me. Now you are saying you want to leave me for good? Fuck that, Justin.”

 

Justin stays silent for a few beats before speaking, “I’m sorry. My emotions are all over the place. They have been since I was turned. I can’t get a grip. I’m just afraid something bad is going to happen to someone I care about.”

 

Brian straightens his shoulders, “Then we’ll fight. We’ll fight until we can’t anymore. I’ll learn how to defend myself against them and I’ll make sure our friends do the same. Vampires are a thing so vampire hunters have to be a thing too. We’ll find the best and most trustworthy person to train us.”

 

Justin snorts, “Brian Kinney: Vampire Hunter? Seriously?”

 

Brian glares and gives a light and playful shove to Justin’s shoulder, “I’ll be fucking badass, Sunshine. You just watch.”

 

Justin stares off into space for a second before shaking himself out of it, “Sorry. I’m just imagining you cutting off people’s heads and getting blood on your designer shirts.”

 

Brian shrugs, “Obviously my new nightside occupation just means that I’ll have to buy two of everything.”

 

“Or you can just wear clothes from a bargain department store like the rest of humanity.”

 

“Don’t make me feel sick. You know me better than that. I have to look good while wielding stakes and machetes and bargain prices just aren’t going to cut it.”

 

Justin giggles hysterically and falls back on the couch, “You are so weird, Brian. People think you are cool but they don’t know you.”

 

Brian jumps on Justin and grinds his hips against his partner’s, “I’m too hot to be cool.”

 

Justin looks up at him and smiles, “You got me there.”

 

Brian smashes his lips against Justin’s and they make quick work of their clothing before Justin turns over to let Brian fuck him against the cushions. Since topping isn’t something Brian has had much desire for or many chances to do this past week, he welcomes the opportunity with open arms. Thank god they keep condoms and lube in the couch like rational people should.

 

The sex is quick but intense as Brian pants into Justin’s ear and Justin bucks back onto his cock. He lets himself come first before flipping Justin over and sucking him off so that he can swallow everything his lover produces.

 

“Fuck,” Justin gasps, “That was great.”

 

“Even though you are Mr. Domineering Top now?” Brian inquires, eyebrow raised.

 

Justin shrugs, “Doesn’t change that you are still the best top in Pittsburgh...besides me.”

 

Brian barks out a laugh, “In your dreams, Sunshine.”

 

“Haven’t heard you complain. You’re too busy moaning and groaning and gasping and begging for my cock-”

 

Brian puts a hand over Justin’s mouth, “Sunshine, shush.”

 

Justin looks up at Brian innocently and Brian thinks he might be done being a little shit. He’s proven wrong when Justin darts out his tongue and licks his hand.

 

“Gross,” Brian comments as he pulls his hand away.

 

“We’ve had each other’s tongues up our asses and you think me licking your hand is gross?”

 

He does have a point. But he isn’t going to dignify it with a response. So all he does is lay his head on Justin’s chest and stays silent as Justin runs his fingers through his hair.

 

“You feeling better? From earlier?”

 

Brian gives a hesitant nod, “For now.”

 

“Don’t keep anything from me, alright? If you have a nightmare or you need to talk, I want to know.”

 

“I’ll try. I...I’m not good at the feelings thing.”

 

“I know. But this isn’t something you just get over. It’s something that we’ll need to work on for a while.”

 

“...I know.”

 

“Good. I didn’t mean to bring down the mood but I just need to make sure you are alright.”

 

“I get it. Can we talk about it later? I’m not….I’m not pushing you away. I’m just not in the mood to talk about something like that right now.”

 

“That’s alright. Wanna watch a movie?”

 

Brian looks up to give him a strange look then snorts, “That’s quite a change of subject.”

 

“I just thought it would be nice to unwind. I know you didn’t get much sleep but it’s still kind of early. It’ll be something that doesn’t take much effort.”

 

Brian nods, “Okay. We can watch a movie. You want to watch something here or go rent something from down the street?”

 

“Let’s rent something. Something we haven’t seen. I haven’t been out of the loft all day and it would be nice to get some fresh air. You don’t have to come if you don’t feel like it.”

 

Brian feels a stab of uneasiness at the idea of Justin wandering off by himself so he quickly says, “I’ll go with you. Let me get dressed and comb my hair.”

 

Justin gives him a strange look but nods and the two of them get ready to go to Blockbuster. The trip is uneventful, surprisingly considering the last week. They decide on something mindless and comedic and go with _Anchorman_. _Shaun of the Dead_ is supposed to be funny but, even though it deals with zombies, it is something neither of them feel like watching right now. They can rent it when the supernatural shock to their lives is easier to deal with. Brian suggests that Justin pick something else out so he won’t get bored tomorrow. Justin ends up getting _Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_. They get some microwave popcorn by the register and check out before heading back home. They put in Anchorman and it is pretty mindless but entertaining enough. Brian ends up lying down and putting his head in Justin’s lap. It probably comes off as ridiculously domestic but it feels so fucking nice. He drifts in and out of sleep briefly in the middle of the movie but is awake for the film’s silly conclusion. 

 

When the movie is over, the two of them get in the shower and Justin feeds from him once more. They brush their teeth next to each other and climb into bed where Justin puts his arms around his waist and his chin on Brian’s shoulder. Brian’s tired but he wants Justin inside of him one more time before turning in for the night. Even though he is wanting to be the one getting fucked all the fucking time now, he doesn’t know how to bring it up most of the time. He knows one day it won’t be an issue for him at all and it’s kind of weird how much he is looking forward to completely accepting this new change in their sex lives. Luckily, Justin can read him very clearly. Without a word, Justin grabs the lube and prepares him before putting a condom on and gently fucking him. He puts a hand on Brian’s hip to hold him still and Brian puts his hand on top of his partner’s in a form of encouragement. He lifts his left leg so Justin can go deeper and god, it feels incredible. It’s so slow and sweet. He doesn’t want it to end until his cock is rock hard and seconds away from shooting. They both come one after the other and Justin reassumes his position after slipping out by holding Brian around his waist once more.

 

And it feels nice. More than nice. He’s never felt more loved. It’s something he never wanted because he was afraid it would end in heartbreak. But to think of going through life without experiencing this is even worse. Their lives may be unconventional, especially now with all the new developments. But it works. They’ll take the rest as it comes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please review to let me know what you think!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin gets his daylight ring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two months. Two freaking months. Other than having to send away my computer on two separate occasions (equaling out to two weeks without it) I have no excuse. I did lose a little passion for this story due to lack of comments in the last few chapters, I can't lie about that. It's hard to care about a story if not very many people seem to be into it. But to those of you who do regularly review, I thank you profusely. I am going to try to update this more often regardless.

The gang surprisingly fucks off for the most part. Sure, they call and ask about what happened but they do end up keeping true to their promises by not coming to the loft. Brian came home from work around 5 to find Daphne at the loft but Justin had called her and invited her. She ditched her two classes to spend the whole day with him. She brought movies and board games and they forced him to play Life with them. Of course he’s the one who ended up with so many fucking kids that not all the little peg figures fit in the car. They ordered pizza from the Italian place down the street and Justin finally gave into Brian’s glare by rolling his eyes and ordering a salad from him. He still hasn’t lost those two pounds.

 

As he sits here and watches his partner with his best friend, he wonders when the last time he told Daphne that he loved her. Because only she can get Justin to act like the 21 year old that he is, untainted by psychopaths, vampirism, gay bashers, hell, even him to an extent. He may make a few cracks but it comforts him that she can get Justin smiling and talking about cute boys, music, books, movies, normal stuff. He’s so grateful that Justin has her.

 

“Daphne, have I told you lately how much I love you?” Brian asks suddenly from his desk.

 

Daphne stares at him before glancing over at Justin to whisper, “What’s up with him?”

 

Justin shrugs, “I don’t know. It took forever for him to say the words to me though. Just go with it.”

 

Daphne nods and smiles at Brian, “Thanks, Brian. Love you too.”

 

Brian gives her a small smile and gets back to work on his laptop. He’s pretty behind due to taking off for a week without any preparations, especially with Leo Brown’s account. He’s been sending out emails in inquiry for acting talent for the television spots and models for the magazine ads to please the man. He felt like as soon as this week was over, when Justin got his ring and he caught up with work, he would feel a lot better.

 

“I need to get going,” Daphne tells them, getting up, “I have four classes tomorrow. I’m basically at the school for twelve hours. Shoot me now.”

 

“But who would play board games with me and Brian?” Justin asks, leading her to the door.

 

“Right, now I remember what my reason for living is. Thanks for the reminder.”

 

Daphne wraps Justin into a hug and says, “Call me tomorrow, okay? Try to get out of the house. I know something happened that’s making you scared but you’re strong. It’ll make you feel better.”

 

Justin sighs and looks at him over Daphne’s shoulder, “Alright, Daph. I’ll try tomorrow.”

 

Daphne smiles, waves at Brian, and walks out the loft. Justin looks at the door and gets a brief hint of worry on his face.

 

“Justin? What is it?”

 

“I don’t feel comfortable with her going home by herself. What if someone followed us?”

 

Brian doesn’t know if Justin’s fears are valid or not. He’d like to think that they aren’t but who fucking knows in this case?

 

“She brought her car so it’s not like she’ll be walking-”

 

“I’m taking the Corvette to follow her back. I'll make sure she gets home okay.”

 

Before he can blink, Justin has dashed over at supernatural speed to get the car keys out of the desk drawer. 

 

“Justin-”

 

But Justin dashes out the door.

 

Feeling paranoid over Justin’s worry, he quickly gets up, puts his shoes and jacket on, and runs down the stairs to find Daphne looking at Justin bewildered.

 

“Justin, it’s fine. I know you are uncomfortable with coming out so don’t feel like you have to see you home.”

 

Justin shakes his head, “It’s fine. Brian go back to the loft.”

 

“No.”

 

Daphne looks at both of them, “You’re both acting really strange. What are you not telling me?”

 

Justin sighs, “I’m not going to lie, Daphne. There’s a lot we’re not telling anyone. But you’ll probably be the first person to find out. Just...Just let me follow you home and walk you to your door.”

 

Daphne purses her lips before muttering, “Creep.”

 

But despite Justin being such a creep, she gets into her car and starts up her engine. 

 

“Brian, you don’t have to come-”

 

Brian only has to give him one look before Justin rolls his eyes and heads to the driver’s side of the vehicle.

 

“You really think this is necessary?” Brian asks as Justin pulls out of the parking space to follow Daphne’s car.

 

“I hope it’s not. But I’m not taking any chances. I shouldn’t take them in the day either since Zachariah and his cronies seem to all have rings but it seems like something horrifying happening during the day is less likely. Then again, I watched someone burst into flames willingly and that was at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.”

 

Brian doesn’t know what to say at first but clears his throat, “We’ll make sure she’s the most prepared. Finn said that he’d make sure your friends were prepared for possible trouble. When he comes tomorrow morning with his friend, we’ll make sure to bring that up.”

 

Justin nods, “Okay. I want everyone prepared. I know I need to tell them but I’m not sure how to do it.”

 

“We’ll figure out a way, Sunshine.”

 

Justin pulls over when they reach Daphne’s apartment building and, after arguing about who should stay in the car, they both go up with the confused girl. 

 

“Don’t let anyone in for the rest of the night,” Justin compels her, “If someone knocks on the door then don’t answer. Don’t even make a sound.”

 

“Okay, Justin,” Daphne says in a daze.

 

“Love you, Daph!” Justin says cheerfully.

 

“You too! Call me tomorrow!” Daphne says, as though nothing happened. 

 

Daphne closes the door and they are left out in the hall. Brian starts to walk back towards the stairs but Justin puts a hand on his wrist to stop him and knocks loudly on Daphne’s door. 

 

They wait there for a few moments and Justin knocks again but no answer. 

 

Justin lets out a relieved sigh, “Okay, I think we’re good.”

 

They head down the two flights of stairs together, get back into the car, and drive home with no incident.

 

“Well, that was uneventful,” Brian announces as they step back into the loft.

 

“I know,” Justin mutters, “It makes me nervous.”

 

Brian turns around to look at him then makes his way over to put his arms around Justin’s neck.

 

“We’re going to be okay. Everyone is going to be okay.”

 

“You don’t know that,” Justin insists, trying to pull away but to no avail.

 

“I don’t,” Brian admits, “But I have a feeling that we’ll all be okay. Even if we go through a bunch of shit, we’ll pull through.”

 

Justin tilts his head up to look at him, “Even if that’s true, it’ll only be true for so long. For me anyway. You won’t be the one who outlives everyone you love. You might outlive most of them, maybe even Gus due to my blood making you stay younger longer. But you won’t have to face a possible eternity without them. You get to have possible grandchildren and great-grandchildren who could be there for you when you finally die. I will most likely be completely alone.

 

Brian blinks a couple of times. The words bring him chills. The idea of Gus looking as old as him, possibly older, going into a casket before he does, makes him sick. But the idea of Justin feeling completely alone as though he has no one makes him feel even worse.

 

“Do you want me to turn?”

 

Justin pulls away, “No!”

 

“Well then what, Justin? I’ve made it pretty clear that I am going to stay with you for the rest of my life and you’re still angsting over shit that won’t happen for another several decades.”

 

“Several decades for someone like me will eventually feel like a few minutes!” Justin snaps dramatically and storms into the bedroom. Brian lets out a sigh. He knows he shouldn’t think drama princess when it is something that weighs on Justin so heavily but still… _drama princess_.

 

Brian goes up the couple of stairs and lies down next to him, stroking his back.

 

“It doesn’t have to be now. Or ever. But I don’t want you to have to watch everyone die. I’ll stick it out with you.”

 

Justin sighs and gives Brian a kiss, “Oh, Brian. Don’t you see? I don’t want you to have to live a life where you are sticking it out.”

 

“You know what I meant,” Brian glares. 

 

“Let’s...Let’s just drop the subject for now. You’re right. We do have time. More now that the blood will keep you younger longer and expand your lifespan. Forget about it.”

 

“...Justin-”

 

Justin cuts him off with a kiss and rolls on top of him.

 

“Shhh. I want to fuck myself on your cock. I want to do it really slow and make you scream.”

 

Brian widens his eyes at that and puts his hands up in a surrendering gesture. And when Justin practically rips their clothes off, puts a condom on his dick, and sinks down to the hilt, he keeps to his word and has Brian begging to come for what feels like hours.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The alarm goes off at 5:30 in the morning. Brian groans as he turns it off. He looks at Justin and sees that his partner is still asleep. Heightened senses his ass. Justin could easily smell and hear the mailman when he came but when it came to an alarm waking him up, he still made sure he stayed blissfully unaware. 

 

“Justin, wake up,” Brian says tiredly as he gently shakes the young man’s shoulder. 

 

“Mmmmph,” is what Justin replies as he turns on his side.

 

“Come on. Let’s get in the shower, make some coffee for our guests, and get your ring.”

 

That has Justin sitting up and getting out of bed. Brian follows him into the shower and holds out his wrist for Justin to take. Justin closes his eyes as he lets his fangs grow in then lets them sink into Brian’s wrist. He sucks on the wound almost leisurely due to his fatigue and Brian pets his wet hair as he feeds. When Justin unlatches himself, he bites his own wrist and brings it Brian’s mouth. Brian is pretty surprised how they just have this down. Maybe it’s because he’s used to it but they have not had any more scares of Justin taking too much blood from him. After the first couple of times, it seemed as though Justin knew when exactly to stop without Brian having to hint that he was getting light headed. He knew that Justin’s blood lust would get worse. Once he was in close proximity to crowds,working or going back to school, having dinners with the gang, he would get a lot hungrier. Brian hoped that if he introduced him slowly into his old life, or as close to his old life he could get, he would be able to handle the hunger a bit better.

 

Justin puts a couple of fingers in between his cheeks and presses against his hole. Brian stifles a groan but manages to move away from the ministrations.

 

“We don’t have time right now,” Brian tells him as he takes the soap and washes Justin’s chest.

 

Justin pouts as though someone took his oil paints away from him until Brian whispers,

 

“As soon as Finn and his little witch leave, I will let you fuck me up on the roof in broad daylight.”

 

Justin’s eyes widen and his jaw drops. Brian smirks that the expression of shock then shrugs, “I mean, if you don’t want to-”

 

“Oh, we’re doing that,” Justin rushes in to interrupt, “I just...I didn’t expect something so _romantic_.”

 

“It’s less romantic than you think. It’ll probably end up being so cold despite the sun that we won’t be able to get it up.”

 

But Justin shakes his head, “I’ll be outside. In the daytime. I’ll be too euphoric to care how cold it is. You’re getting fucked on the roof so stop trying to get out of it.”

 

Justin hops out of the shower with a bounce in his step that Brian has to keep himself from laughing at.

 

They quickly change and turn the coffee pot on. They aren’t even sitting on the couch for more than 10 minutes when the doorbell buzzes.

 

Justin gets up and presses the button, “Who is it?”

 

“It’s Finn Remington,” the proper fucker announces, as though they could be expecting another Finn at 6 o’clock in the morning. 

 

Justin rings him up and slides open the door where Finn and-

 

What? Seriously?

 

“I heard you got into some trouble, Justin,” Mysterious Marilyn tsks as she walks into the loft. Who the fuck wears heels at 6 o’clock in the morning?

 

“You’re...You’re Marilyn? Finn’s friend? Finn’s witch friend?” Justin asks before ordering, “Brian, come invite Finn in.”

 

“Finn, would you please come in?” Brian says tiredly before moving aside.

 

Marilyn raises an eyebrow, “Of course I am. What, you thought I was just a psychic? Or, in Brian’s case, a scamming nutjob?”

 

“Oh, I’m surprised you let him get away with that,” Finn smirks at Brian.

 

“He means well,” Marilyn dismisses as she goes over to the kitchen table and opens her case, “Come! Gather around.”

 

Brian, Justin, and Finn sit at the other available chairs at the table, Justin looking at her in fascination the whole time.

 

“So, you’ve been a witch this whole time?” Justin asks eagerly.

 

“Ever since I turned 7. I was quite the early bloomer. Jesus, when was that, Finn? 310 years ago?” Marilyn asks Finn.

 

“Well, you were technically a warlock then,” Finn points out, “You didn’t start dressing as a woman full-time until the 1920s.”

 

“So much time wasted,” Marilyn sighs, “Now, Justin. What size ring do you wear?”

 

“Uh, I don’t know,” Justin confesses, “Maybe a 9 and a half or 10?”

 

Marilyn looks at him as though she is unimpressed with his lack of knowledge on his ring size and reaches across the table to grab his hand.

 

“10 and a half,” Marilyn corrects him after one glance at his hand then looks at Brian and smirks, “Better take note for the inevitable special day.”

 

Marilyn places a ring with intricate patterns carved into it in the middle of the table.

 

“This will be your ring. Never take it off. Ever. Even though it will only work for you and no other vampire, I don’t want anyone getting their hands on it. That’s my signature carving. It accepts the magic I put forth into the ring. It can be traced back to me if someone gets a hold of it to study and I am not opening shop for any vampire who comes through Pittsburgh. I do not associate with vampires...most vampires anyway. They lead tragic lives so I do sympathize with them but they tend to be very violent and self-serving.”

 

“Then why are you friends with Finn?” Justin asks.

 

“Finn raised me. He’s the closest person I ever had to a father. He's one of the better ones,” Marilyn admits before clearing her throat, “Now go fetch something that has a lot of sentimental value to you.”

 

“Most of my stuff is still at Daphne’s and I haven’t had the chance to get it. She only brought a couple bags of clothes over yesterday.”

 

Marilyn glares, “Well, the spell isn’t going to work without it. I’m sure there is something.”

 

Justin thinks for a few seconds then blushes, “Okay. There’s one thing, I guess.”

 

Justin gets up and goes over to one of the bags of clothes and starts digging. What he comes back with has Brian almost rolling on the floor laughing.

 

“A jockstrap?” Finn asks, eyebrows raised, “You feel sentimental over a jockstrap?”

 

“It’s not just any jockstrap!” Justin snaps, “It’s the one Brian was wearing when he took me back to the loft for the first time!”

 

“I wondered where that went,” Brian muses.

 

“Fine. It’s a bit...unorthodox. But it could work. It would have been more ideal to have your grandfather’s pocket watch or a lock of a dead relative’s hair but whatever,” Marilyn says, exasperated as she puts a stone dish on the table, “Put them in here.”

 

Justin bundles them up and puts them in the dish. Marilyn begins to chant in Latin before throwing a liquid on the jockstrap and setting them on fire.

 

“Hey!” Justin exclaims as he watches the flames shoot up.

 

“Sorry, dear. Sacrifices have to be made,” Marilyn consoles as she watches the jockstrap burn.

 

As soon as the the flames die down, Marilyn takes the ring and dips it in the leftover ashes. She puts the ring on the table and Brian’s eyes widen as the patterns on the ring glow a white-blue before fading away.

 

“Seems like it worked,” Marilyn says, getting up, “Put it on and we’ll go outside to see.”

 

“Wait,” Brian says, standing up as well, “What if it doesn’t? Is he just going to burst into flames?”

 

“Not unless he wants to,” Marilyn tells him, “As long as he fights dying, he should be fine as long as we get back inside soon enough.”

 

“I don’t know-”

 

“Brian, it’ll be fine,” Justin tells him, leading the way to the door.

 

It’s seven in the morning. The sun will be shining and if it doesn’t work Justin could get hurt. But Justin doesn’t seem nervous at all. He seems determined. 

 

They are standing in front of the front door and Mysterious Marilyn and Finn head outside first.

 

“Ready, sweetie?” Marilyn asks.

 

Justin turns to look at Brian and holds out his hand. Brian sighs, laces his fingers with his, and walks out the door.

 

Justin’s eyes are shut as he steps out into the light and Brian braces himself to rush him inside. He waits for the smell of sizzling skin or for Justin’s hair to burst into flames. Anything that may indicate that he was right about Marilyn being a scamming nutjob. 

 

But none of that happens. Instead, Justin lets out a breath and starts laughing until he cries. Brian turns bring him into an embrace and the sheer emotion coming off of Justin in waves has him holding back tears of his own. 

 

“It worked it worked it worked,” Justin mutters, “I fucking loved that jockstrap, I knew it would work.”

 

Brian laughs and holds him tighter. They are so focused on each other that they pretty much forget about Finn and Marilyn until they clear their throats. 

 

“I do have a few other things for you, if you would like to have them. Things that will help your friends with all of this.”

 

Justin backs away from Brian just enough to nod. Still holding onto each other, they all head inside and sit back down. 

 

“I won’t keep you long,” Marilyn says, “We can talk about anything you need or want to know another day. But I brought you bracelets for your friends to wear. They are laced with vervain and will keep them from getting compelled."

 

Justin reaches over to inspect one only for his skin to be horribly burned. He yanks his hand back with a yelp and, when Brian reaches over to inspect his hand, he sees the raw skin and blisters the bracelet left in its wake.

 

“Jesus Christ! Why didn’t you warn him?” Brian yells at her.

 

“Oh, shush. He'll heal. Besides, he needed to know they would work,” Marilyn tells him before turning to Justin, “I would suggest that any future handling be done with gloves. Better yet, compel your friends to never take them off and have Brian give the bracelets to them. There’s ten of them there. If you would need more, just let me know. I grow vervain in my basement.”

 

“So this will keep them from being controlled by Zachariah?” Justin asks.

 

“And by you. Brian, why don’t you put one on?”

 

Brian hesitantly reaches over and puts the woven bracelet on his wrist. 

 

“Compel him, Justin.”

 

Justin looks around, “I don’t know what I want him to do.”

 

Marilyn rolls her eyes, “You’re bonded to him. Tell him something that you think will genuinely keep him safe since it’s harder to compel your mate.”

 

Justin nods and looks into Brian’s eyes, “Stop drinking so much. You worry me with it.”

 

Brian feels drawn to Justin but then laughs and shakes it off, “Absolutely not.”

 

Justin glares, “Hey, take off the bracelet for a few minutes. I’m not going to compel you to do anything, I swear.”

 

“Whatever, I know your game,” Brian says walking back to the table. 

 

“Let me try, just to make sure,” Finn requests before turning Brian around to look at him.

 

“Walk to the kitchen and get me a glass of water.”

 

“Get it yourself. Cups are in the cabinet by the fridge,” Brian dismisses, sitting down.

 

“He’s a really great host,” Justin says seriously.

 

“I can tell,” Finn responds, “Well, now that we know that the bracelets and ring work, we are in the process of accounting for every supe in Pittsburgh in order to create a protective border around the city. This will take several days but we’ve already created an alert system that will show us new supes who enter the area until the spell takes effect. This way those supes who live here or are approved may come and go as they please but those who are not accounted for will have a hard time getting in.”

 

“What if someone flies in?” Justin asks.

 

“Then they will find themselves stuck on the airport grounds until they get a new flight out. It won’t be foolproof. If we miss someone who is living here or is passing through then they’ll be stuck until we get the chance to make some adjustments. This is a very complicated spell so it will probably be tweaked several times and anything can happen during any fixings.. But hopefully it will buy some time if Zachariah is actively seeking you or seeking revenge. I suggest that you don’t take any trips for a while. Not forever, but until I can keep track of my brother for a while and figure out where his mindset is at. Sometimes he’s moves on and sometimes he obsesses. And sometimes he seems like he’s moved on for days, months, decades, only to change his mind and hunt after the person he wants dead or alive. I’m hoping he’ll set his sights on someone else, hopefully another young man who actually wants to be a vampire.”

 

“This seems like a really extreme spell. It’s a lot to do for one person,” Justin says, suspicious.

 

“When Finn says he’ll protect someone, he goes above and beyond for that person,” Marilyn cuts in, defending her father figure.

 

“...Okay. Thank you.”

 

Finn nods then says, “I’m giving you a few contacts. You have Marilyn but I am introducing you to a fellow vampire in the area. His name is William Parker. He’s younger than I am. I turned him during World War II when he was a war prisoner at a Nazi base. He’s a peaceful man who stands up for his convictions. He’s actually from Pittsburgh and is back in the area for at least a few years until it’s time to move on. I think he could be a good friend to you. Another is a vampire hunter-”

 

“Vampire hunter?” Brian interrupts, alarmed.

 

“She’s a... _reasonable_ vampire hunter. She understands that not all vampires are mindless, soulless killing machines. She realizes that some kill for a good reason."

 

"...So if she finds out about what happened in Kansas-"

 

"I told her so she knows. She also knows that humans can be just as monstrous as vampires can be. She would have done the same thing if she were in your position. Her name is Irene Grant. She will teach Brian and your friends to properly defend themselves as well as diffuse you if the situation may arise."

 

"Justin has been doing great. That won't have to happen," Brian protests.

 

But Finn shakes his head, "There is no way to know that. Odds are that he will snap. Almost every vampire does, no matter how good of a person they are. He already has once."

 

"You just said he had a good reason! He killed brainwashed murderers not-"

 

"Innocent people. Like I said, I agree. But he wasn't logical when he did that. He could have easily chosen to disarm them and compelled them to stay put and confess but he snapped and killed two of them brutally because they posed a threat to you."

 

Brian looks over at Justin who has tears of shame in his eyes and Brian growls. Finn notices Justin's guilt and softens his approach.

 

"It wasn't your fault, Justin. Not at all. You were turned just a week ago. Pretty much everyone snaps in their first year more than once and eighty percent of the time it is for less than noble causes. You are not out of the woods. Once you go back to your day to day activities, you will be around people and your cravings will grow stronger. If your friends are prepared to hinder you, then that may prevent any catastrophic damage. Believing that you will be fine by being the exception is frankly foolish. You need to be prepared and so do the people you care about.”

 

Justin nods, “Okay. I’ll give her a call later today. William too. It would be nice to have someone to talk to.”

 

“And of course I will be in and out of Pittsburgh to check in on you as well as any suspicious activity. I own a business down here as well as several others up and down the east coast. Brian, I didn’t make the connection initially, but you did a wonderful campaign for the car dealership I own. European Classic?”

 

Brian blinks, “You own European Classic?”

 

“I do. I’m the silent owner and partner, for the most part. I’ve managed to keep the majority of my businesses by laying low and taking on different names but it’s worked out. I believe you met with Winston Conrad, my colleague?”

 

“...Yeah. Does he know? About you?”

 

“He does. He gets paid handsomely and has kept his loyalty for over twenty years.”

 

“What a coincidence,” Brian mutters as Justin whispers, “I told you there were more people who knew about this than we thought!”

 

“Well boys, I better be off,” Marilyn says as she collects her things, “Call me this week, Justin. Maybe you can come by my place and we’ll chat over tea. Are you coming back with me, Finn?”

 

Finn nods, “I better. I haven’t slept well in a couple of days and still need to get a hotel room.”

 

“You know the guest room is always available to you. You’ll be up with me several nights this week patrolling Pittsburgh so you might as well stay.”

 

“You know I love visiting you, Marilyn. I just don’t like your cat,” Finn explains, wincing at the thought of the feline.

 

Marilyn smirks then leans in to loudly whisper, “He’s convinced that she’s demonic but she’s just kind of a cunt.”

 

Brian misses the days when he didn’t get the urge to ask if demons were actually real or not. He didn’t think he wanted to know though.

 

They see their guests out before going back to the couch to collapse on it.

 

“They didn’t even tell us that much but I feel overloaded with information,” Justin tells him as he rubs his temples. 

 

“We’ll sort through it.”

 

Justin nods before getting up and holding out his hand. Brian looks down at it before looking back up at him.

 

“What?”

 

“Before we sort anything, I want to go outside. To the rooftop, specifically.”

 

Brian smiles a little, takes his hand, and gets up. It’s good to know that Sunshine’s priorities are still straight. 

 

And as soon as Justin is thrusting into him with practically all the strength that he has, Brian doesn’t have a care in the world. He doesn’t care if he is bottoming yet again and he doesn’t even care that his neighbors might be able to hear him moaning. The only thing he cares about is that Justin was right. Despite how cold it is, they were able to get it up. And when Brian is looking up at him, he can see that Justin is so fucking happy to be outside again. It’s hard to care about anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review! I would like to know who is still reading. :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brian gives in and goes to family dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not proofread very well, so I know there are mistakes. Sorry about that.

“We can’t avoid them forever.”

 

Justin waits for Brian to react. Despite the bright sun beating down on the roof, Brian opens his eyes to look at his partner.

 

“Who are we avoiding? If you are talking about Zachariah then you’re wrong. We should avoid him for as long as possible.”

 

“Not him. But we probably can’t avoid him forever either. I was talking about Debbie and Michael and Lindsay-”

 

“Oh. Them. Sure we can.”

 

Justin gives him a disbelieving look, “Yeah, right.”

 

“Look, you still have people to call. That vampire and that hunter. Call and talk to them first. Maybe in a couple of weeks you can start seeing them again but for now it’s a no.”

 

Justin glares, “I thought I was supposed to be the dominant one in this relationship now.”

 

Brian smirks and rolls on top of him.

 

“You thought I would give up that easily?” he asks huskily before kissing him.

 

Justin makes a noise when Brian puts his lips on his but gives in for several seconds until they break it.

 

“Aren’t you cold?” Justin asks softly, rubbing his face.

 

Brian shrugs, “I was. That’s why I put my clothes and jacket back on. Now I’m not.”

 

“So we’re just going to stay up on the roof all day.”

 

“If that’s what you want to do then I guess that’s what we’ll do.”

 

Justin shakes his head and pushes at Brian’s chest, “You need to go to work.”

 

“Trying to get rid of me so easily?”

 

“No. But I know you. Better than most-”

 

“Better than anyone,” Brian corrects softly.

 

Justin’s eyes crinkle at the words before growing serious again.

 

“Then I should know that taking unplanned days off of work when Kinnetik has been open for less than a year is stressing you out. You have a couple of meetings today. Cynthia and Ted can handle them but you should be getting into the swing of things again. Just because I’m stuck here, trying to figure out what’s going to become of my life now, doesn’t mean you have to be.”

 

Brian glares a little, “I hate it when you say shit like that. It makes me want to stay here and keep an eye on you.”

 

“Really? I thought the self-pity would make your dick soft and you would leave to find someone else to take care of it.”

 

It’s mean and Justin knows the comment pisses Brian off but he’s surprised when Brian clears his throat and answers.

 

“...Are we even doing that anymore?”

 

“Doing what?”

 

“You know what I’m talking about.”

 

And yeah, Justin knows. They have always fucked other men. They had their rules in place to let the other know that they mattered but would it even work now? Could Justin fuck someone else without giving into the bloodlust that came right after? Could he watch Brian fuck someone without wanting to rip the guy’s throat out? At least no one would be fucking Brian. Justin knew that was reserved solely for him. Brian had already begun bottoming for him the majority of the time and Justin didn’t see that changing unless Brian got sick of him. Would he get sick of him if he could only fuck him? Not being able, now physically and possibly emotionally, to display dominance over him?

 

“Let’s just keep things the way they have been for now,” Justin says softly, “Keep the rules in place as well as the ones I gave you the night we got back.”

 

Brian raises an eyebrow, “Won’t those conflict?”

 

“Not if you just fuck around at Babylon or the baths. I told you to be yourself in public. I want you to be comfortable around your friends and the people who know your reputation. Letting people know about the shift in our sex life is your decision. I know it’s a big step for you to accept this. I would never force you to reveal it to anyone by changing your public persona for me.”

 

“...It’s not that I’m ashamed of it-” Brian starts.

 

“I know. But it’s a little taboo. And if people found out the arrangement wasn’t the way they expected, they would talk. Like I said, you don’t have to tell anyone if you don’t want to. It’s not any of their business. The only people who probably should eventually know are our friends but that’s only if they catch onto any behavior or walk in on us.”

 

Brian huffs, “We’re changing the locks. It’s bullshit that Michael and Lindsay can walk right in. They don’t do it all the time but the times they have let themselves in it hasn’t been an emergency. I’ve never done that to Lindsay and only did it once to Michael. He got pissed. Granted, Ben was about to fuck him. But still, we’re changing the locks.”

 

“You don’t hear me complaining,” Justin smiles.

 

Brian is quiet for a few seconds before speaking again.

 

“I want to add a new rule,” he says softly.

 

Justin stares at him and nods, “Anything. What is it?”

 

“I don’t want you feeding from anyone else but me unless it’s an emergency and you can’t get to me. I don’t really want you giving your blood to anyone either but I know if something happened to one of our friends or to Gus you would save them. I would want you to. Just don’t feed from someone and definitely don’t exchange blood with them.”

 

“...Okay,” Justin agrees, “I have only felt the need to exchange blood with you but okay.”

 

“Yeah, but you always want to do it after we fuck so if we are still going to be fucking other people then you might get the urge to at least feed from them.”

 

Justin can’t deny that simply because he doesn’t know what he’ll feel if he has sex with another man again. He knows he won’t bottom for them. He’ll reserve that now only occasional practice for Brian from now on. But sex does further unlock that part of him, that animalistic bloodthirsty part of him and giving into it brings instant gratification. It isn’t like he could let them remember anyway, nor could he feed off of someone in public. He would have to bring whoever it is back to the loft, go back to their place, or get a hotel room and that would be hypocritical since he doesn’t want Brian doing that. The only reason he may want someone at the loft is if they both bring him home and even if he did feed from both of them, he would have to compel the guy to agree and forget about it. That was probably the wrong thing to do. 

 

“Justin,” Brian prompts, sounding annoyed and possibly a little hurt from his lack of answer.

 

“I won’t, alright? I doubt anyone would be okay with it anyway and I’m not going to compel someone to let me,” Justin tells him a little roughly. 

 

Brian sighs then lets out a humorless laugh, “Fuck, who would think I would get jealous?”

 

Justin looks at him disbelievingly, “I can list at least five things you have done because you were jealous that I had or you thought I had feelings for someone else.”

 

Brian looks aways but Justin takes his face and makes him look at him again.

 

“But you don’t have to worry about that. Ever again.”

 

Brian nuzzles his hand just slightly and it brings a small smile out of Justin.

 

“Now go to work. We’ll talk about rules, both sets of rules, later.”

 

Brian nods, rolls on top of him, then kisses him before getting up to walk to the door.

 

“You coming?” Brian asks, “It’s pretty cold and you still don’t have your clothes on. How are you not cold?”

 

“It must be a vampire thing. It’s not that cold to me. I want to stay out here longer. Love you.”

 

“Yeah, you too.”

 

Justin hears the door close before closing his eyes and breathing in. He really doesn’t feel cold at all. Even when it starts to snow an hour later, all he feels is warmth.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brian makes it to work on time despite not really wanting to go in the first place. Ted meets him in the lobby, like he has been every day since he witnessed Brian’s panic attack at the restaurant. Who would have thought that Theodore Schmidt had a protective streak in him?

 

“Theodore,” Brian greets but ignores him otherwise as he steps past to make his way to his office. 

 

“Hey, Bri!” Ted calls out, following him, “I have some of the contracts drafted for Brown if you want to take a look at them before the meeting.”

 

“Put them on my desk,” is all Brian says as he goes into his office to sit down.

 

Ted put the folder down but doesn’t leave. Instead he sits down. Funny, Brian didn’t remember giving him permission to stick around.

 

“How are you doing?” Ted asks softly, staring at him way too intently for Brian’s liking.

 

“Justin wonderful, Theodore,” Brian answers sarcastically. The thing is, it’s been a good morning so he’s not lying. He’s a little worried about how Justin hesitated about the new condition he put into place but other than that it’s been good. Justin got his ring. Finn and Marilyn were working on something to keep Zachariah out of the picture, and he had pretty fucking fantastic sex life. Of course, there were things that affected the bigger picture, like catching a part of the news when he went to get a bagel on his way to work and having to force himself to calm down before Justin could sense anything. Or the fact that his partner was worried about living and eternity alone. Brian was just trying to focus on the good.

 

“Great! That’s great,” Ted says nervously, “I’ve...I’ve been worried about you. You haven’t been around and our friends are worried about you. And Justin, but they want to give him space since he asked for it.”

 

“Why have you been worried about me? You’re the lucky one since you get to see me practically every day and I’m obviously fine.”

 

“...Brian. You have to know why I’ve been worried.”

 

Brian lets out a breath and starts to feel a little uncomfortable. He doesn’t want to talk about what happened. Not only because it was fucking embarrassing but because he’s had nightmares every other night. Nothing too revealing. Fucked up images, feelings of raw terror. God, he doesn’t know how he could have dealt with that at the time. He knows Justin saved him so that’s something to feel relieved about but how bad was he to make Justin feel the need to compel him to forget? 

 

“Bri? You okay?”

 

Brian shakes himself out of his thoughts, “Fine. I’m fine, Ted. Really.”

 

Ted nods his head slowly and Brian can already tell that Ted knows he’s lying.

 

“Well, if you are up for it, Debbie asked me to invite you and Justin to dinner. She’s been worried sick. They all have. They want to respect what you and Justin asked for though.”

 

As easy as the answer should be, Brian honestly feels a little conflicted. He wants to be there for Justin first and foremost. That’s easy. But he does miss his makeshift family, especially his son. He would like to at least briefly pretend that things are okay. Talk with the people who have meant a lot to him for years, despite not always showing it. Despite saying to Justin that they could avoid them forever didn’t mean that he necessarily wanted to. He would if it meant Justin wouldn’t be seconds away from committing mass murder. That may sound harsh but the fucker has been a bit unpredictable ever since Brian found him in Nevada. He wants to introduce Justin to everything slowly so that he knows he’s okay. Having dinner with a group of people so soon after being turned wasn’t the way to start things out. If anything, they could have a couple of people at their own home so that Justin was comfortable then eventually invite the whole gang. Maybe then they could start going to family dinner.

 

He just really wanted to see his boy.

 

“I’ll think about it,” Brian tells him, “Justin isn’t quite ready yet but I might come if he’s okay with it and has Daphne or Jennifer come over.”

 

Ted smiles, “That’d be great. I hope you can come.”

 

“They’ve been blowing up your phone and showing up at your apartment to get answers, haven’t they?” Brian guesses knowingly.

 

Ted looks a little exasperated as he nods, “I haven’t told them anything except that you were working again. I told them that you would have them banned by security if they showed up before you gave the go ahead so I don’t think you have to worry about that. But they are incredibly insistent and I don’t know how long I can hold them off.”

 

Brian sighs, “I’ll try my best, alright? I get that they’re worried but they need to give him time. Now get out of my office.”

 

Ted stands up before looking down at him once more, “You’re sure you’re okay?”

 

Brian glares, “I’m _fine_. Now stop asking.”

 

Ted takes the hint and hurries out. 

 

Shit. He wanted to take this slow. He doesn’t want Justin to think he’s abandoning him this soon. 

 

Before he can let himself overthink the situation, his phone starts to ring. Brian looks down at the caller ID and sighs when he sees Justin’s name. He must have not suppressed his feelings as well as he thought he did. 

 

“Yes, Justin?” Brian asks as patiently as he can.

 

“Are you okay? You’re stressed out.”

 

“...Justin, you have to stop doing this,” Brian groans.

 

“I was just worried,” Justin defends himself. 

 

“I know. But everything’s okay. I’m fine,” Brian tells him.

 

“Okay. How’s work?”

 

“Annoying. The gang has been bothering Ted. They wanted to know if we would come to dinner.”

 

“I’m not sure I’m ready for that. I know I said we couldn’t avoid them forever and I don’t want to but I also don’t want to hurt anyone.”

 

“I know. And I don’t want to throw you into anything that quickly,” Brian tells him truthfully.

 

“But that doesn’t mean you can’t go,” Justin tells him.

 

“I’m not going without you. Don’t worry about it. Maybe we can try in a couple of weeks after having a few more people around the loft and getting you out and about more.”

 

“Brian, it’s okay. Really,” Justin tells him, “I know you. I know you miss Gus. Fuck, I miss him too. But if you go, you can take pictures of him and and JR. That way, I can live vicariously through you until I get more used to things.”

 

“Yeah, because taking pictures of babies is such an in character thing for me to do,” Brian snorts. 

 

Justin doesn’t comment on the remark and just waits for Brian’s answer. 

 

“...You’re sure you’ll be okay?” Brian asks hesitantly.

 

“I’ll be fine,” Justin promises, “I’ll probably stay in the loft all night. The farthest I’ll go is that Chinese place down the street or the bookstore one block over. Don’t worry about it. I’ll wait until it’s not busy.”

 

“So you weren’t planning on a meal or anything? You’ve been cooking a lot. I don’t want to put you out.”

 

“I was going to make Jambalaya but it’s better on the second day anyway. I’ll make it for tomorrow.”

 

“Okay. I won’t stay long. Just through dinner to visit Gus for a little bit. I should be back by 8 at the latest.”

 

“Take your time,” Justin tells him sincerely, “And I mean it. Take pictures. I know you have cameras at Kinnetik so just take one of those.”

 

Brian sighs, “You really are trying to ruin each bit of my reputation, aren’t you?”

 

“Yes, Brian. That’s exactly it,” Justin answers dryly.

 

“I suppose I should have seen it coming,” Brian smiles just a little, “I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”

 

And the way it slips out ever since he found out Justin wasn’t dead should concern him but it doesn’t. If it keeps him happy, then he’ll say it every day.

 

“I love you too,” Justin tells him softly but Brian can tell that his partner is barely holding back his excitement over the now regular exchange. 

 

Brian hangs up the phone only to look up and see Ted and Cynthia standing in the doorway.

 

Brian groans at the look of glee on Cynthia’s face and Ted’s surprise before waving them in.

 

“How long have you been standing there?” he has to ask.

 

“Just long enough to know that you’re aware how much Justin has changed you and that you love him for it,” Cynthia snarks before sitting down, “Now, let’s go over these boards before the meeting."

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The meetings go over well and, after he points out a few administrative fuck ups, he gets a camera and is on the way to Debbie’s house by 5:30. 

 

When Ted gets out of his own car, Brian looks over towards him and asks, “How cool do you think they are capable of playing it once I go in?”

 

Ted stares at him and shakes his head, “Just...Just prepare yourself, alright?”

 

Brian lets out a sigh before following Ted up to Debbie’s porch to knock on the door. 

 

“I got someone to tag along,” Ted tells Debbie as soon as she opens the door.

 

The screech she lets out is terrifying. 

 

“You little shit!” she exclaims as she pushes Ted out of the way to hug him in her death grip, “I haven’t seen you in almost two weeks! Never worry me like you did again! Where’s Justin?”

 

“Not here,” Brian tells her pointedly, “He isn’t quite ready but wanted me to come so here I am.”

 

Debbie gives him a bewildered look, “What do you mean, he’s not ready? We’re his family, for Christ’s sake!”

 

“He just needs sometime,” he tells her gently but sternly, “It...It isn’t you, alright? A lot happened.”

 

“Well, he needs to be around people who care for him! Who love him and want what’s best for him-”

 

“He has Brian, Deb,” Ted cuts in, “He has someone who feels those things living with him. We should honor what he needs right now by giving them space.”

 

Even though he is a little embarrassed, he has never felt so grateful for Theodore in his life.

 

Debbie looks dubious but lets both of them inside. 

 

Next, he gets the brunt of Michael’s concern. Michael takes the hint pretty quickly and just hugs him. And, fuck, it feels so comforting to just be by his best friend again. He wants to spill and tell him everything, which is something he generally has never done but on the few occasions where he did have to voice his grief, fears, or confusion, it was always to Vic or Michael. Vic would actually be preferable in this situation. He would take the shift in the relationship at face value and not dive into the weirdness of Brian becoming some submissive bottom. The vampire thing might be Michael’s specialty though, with his love of the fantasy genre. Between the two of them, he could get the whole story out. 

 

“Are you alright?” Michael asks quietly when he must realize that Brian hasn’t let go yet, “Brian, you need to tell me, or someone, what’s going on.”

 

Brian just lets out a breath and shakes his head, “Not yet.”

 

“Carl is still wondering why you told Ted to lie and say Justin went on a drug binge. You told Ma that he could come by and settle things but Justin canceled. He wants to know what happened if some sort of crime was committed. Did he get into some other kind of trouble? Did someone assault him? Did he-”

 

“Michael, stop,” Brian mutters, “It’s Justin’s business. He’ll tell you all when he’s ready but we’re dealing with it. I’ll talk to Carl later. Alone.”

 

The rest of the night doesn’t go so badly. Mel is surprisingly nice to him, which is almost off-putting but he thinks it’s genuine. She did see him in a complete ball of worry before he flew to LA to find Justin and helped him out when it came to calling Carl and getting the Missing Person’s report out more quickly. Maybe her newfound interest in how his life can be chalked down to the separation, which Brian still doesn’t think the rest of the gang knows about. He’ll have to ask later. He would ask Lindsay but she’s getting on his last one by being hard to talk to, interrogating him and guilting him about Gus missing him. Like he didn’t know already and feel the same way. Gus had sat in his lap for all of dinner and she thinks that he didn’t even think of him? Brian bites his lip to keep himself from snapping over it and just encourages Emmett to talk about his new party planning business instead to get the attention off of him. 

 

“Why isn’t Jus here, Daddy?” Gus asks, looking up at him once the plates are cleared, “Is he sick?”

 

“Not exactly, Sonny Boy. He just wasn’t up for coming. He’s had a tough couple of weeks.”

 

“Maybe I can come to your house and say hi. I’ll color something for him! Or I can sleep over!” Gus says excitedly. 

 

Brian laughs softly and kisses his head, “I’m sure Justin would love that. He misses you so much. We’ll see on the sleeping over part in a week or so, okay? Justin is trying to feel more like himself again. But I promise that you can at least come and say hi in a few days. I think you of all people can get him feeling happy.”

 

Gus nods his head vigorously, “I can! We can play and stuff and maybe go to the park if it’s not really cold.”

 

“Maybe so. Justin wanted me to get some pictures of you and your sister. Want to be a model for a second and smile for the camera.”

 

Gus becomes a fucking ham after that, making silly faces and jumping around while Brian snaps away on the digital camera. He gets a few of Gus beside JR’s car seat and a few close-ups of her sleeping. He ignores the strange looks as he approaches the table to tell everyone goodbye.

 

“Don’t pull a disappearing act again,” Debbie orders, “Even if Justin isn’t up for visiting yet, I want you to try to be here Sunday.”

 

“Can’t we just stop by to see how he’s doing?” Emmett frets.

 

“If Justin calls you, then by all means. But until then, you all need to wait. Lindsay, maybe you can bring Gus over some time this weekend. I’ll call you, alright?”

 

He kisses Gus and JR and messes up Michael’s hair just to get him pissy before grabbing his coat and heading out the door. He almost makes it to the car before he hears Carl’s voice.

 

“Brian, hold on a second!”

 

Brian sighs and stops in his tracks before turning around.

 

“Yes, Detective?”

 

Carl rubs his arms before going down the steps to approach him, “I am concerned about what’s going on with Justin. Just sweeping things under the rug it isn’t what I would usually do but I know he’s a good kid. However, if something happened, then he does need to file a report. If someone hurt him or kept him somewhere, he needs to say something to prevent them from hurting anyone else.

 

Brian pulls at his hair, “Look, it’s more complicated than that, okay? You wouldn’t understand.”

 

“Just try me,” Carl reasons, “I have seen a lot of bad shit during my time on the force and, although I hope to god Justin didn’t go through something terrible, I can handle it.”

 

Brian shakes his head, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

 

“Brian-”

 

“I’ll talk to him, okay? But I can’t make any promises. I’ll let you know later. So am I still being held?”

 

Carl stares at him before shaking his head, “No, Brian. Have a nice night.”

 

Brian gets into his car and drives back to the loft. When he gets upstairs, he doesn’t see Justin anywhere. 

 

“Justin?” Brian calls out, looking in the bedroom and bathroom. 

 

He tries not to worry. He knows Justin said he might go down to the bookstore later so that’s probably where he is. But fuck, everything has had him on edge lately. 

 

Sitting down, he flips through the channels as he waits for Justin to come home. After an hour passes, he gives into his urge to call and check on him to see where he is and he can’t help but feel relief when he answers.

 

“I’m fine,” Justin tells him as soon as he answers the phone, “I should have left a note but I thought I would be back by the time you were home.”

 

“Where are you?” Brian immediately asks, “The bookstore should be closing by now.”

 

“I went to meet someone for dinner at that Gourmet Bistro on 6th Street a few hours ago and we’ve just been talking.”

 

Someone? Who was “someone?” If it were Daphne or Jennifer, Justin would have just told him it was Daphne or his mother. If any of Brian’s friends were available, Justin would have told him Emmett or Lindsay or Ben or whoever. It could be a friend from school but Justin never made any close friends except for Ethan but Brian hates thinking about him. Everyone else had only been people Justin met up with occasionally, usually for collaborative projects but once in awhile for lunch. However, he doubts Justin would be up for seeing any of them if he wasn’t up for seeing the gang. 

 

“Quit overthinking it. I met with William Parker. He’s really nice.”

 

Brian freezes at the name when he realizes who it is.

 

“You just thought it would be okay to go meet some stranger who is a vampire several decades older than you without letting me know where you were going?”

 

“Finn said he was okay and he is,” Justin defends himself, “And I didn’t tell you in case Finn was wrong. I would never put you in danger and if things went south I didn’t want you to be there. But I can see that he’s a good person so don’t worry about it.”

 

“You should have told me where you were going to be,” Brian mutters, “I’m on my way.”

 

“Brian-”

 

Brian hangs up the phone, puts his shoes back on, and goes back out the door. He realizes that Justin needs to talk to someone about what he’s become but the fact that he went alone without telling him makes his blood boil.

 

He guesses he’ll get to know William Parker now to make an assessment of him himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wants to collaborate on this story, I am open to it by giving you a link as I write. This will give you access to the document and we can chat about what is happening. I like this story, I really do, but I find it hard to write as it is in it's slower moments. It will sort of be like what Tagsit did with Summer of Sin. She opened up the document to a group of readers so they could brainstorm as she wrote. Anyway, let me know if you are interested so we can keep in touch!

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is a vampire fic and this is probably the happiest and the first chapter is the calmest chapter you are going to get for a while, even though the boys stay very loyal and emotionally attached to each other throughout the whole story. The fandom that I can compare the vampirism in this story to when it comes mythology and physiology would be The Vampire Diaries. But it is not a crossover with them at all, just the closest comparison when it comes to how they are born, how their body functions, how they can die, and how they can cheat around their weaknesses. I am basically borrowing their rules on supernatural creatures, plus adding a few rules of my own. Vampires are not known to society and this takes place after season 4 and goes AU from there. Ignore that Justin slept with Connor James in season 4. I hope you enjoy this! Please let me know if you do (or don't) in the comments! Thanks for reading!


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